AlphaOmega Protocol
by Syl
Summary: With the Justice League compromised, it is up to Young Justice to save the day.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** With the Justice League compromised, it is up to Young Justice to save the day.

**Author's Note:** Based on a 2-second preview of YJ Season 1 Finale that I saw with Batman fighting Robin. Although I had meant this to be a one-shot, due to several requests, I decided to expand the story. And yes, I've changed the first chapter slightly.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Red Canyon Testing Range, TX-NM Border**

**Day 1/0900 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

The Justice League attacked without warning. The Young Justice junior heroes were taken by surprise by the very people who knew both their strengths and their weaknesses—their mentors. The team had been deployed to the Red Canyon Testing Range, a remote missile proving ground located along the Texas-New Mexico border.

Just that morning, the Team had assembled in Mount Justice for a mission briefing. Batman showed them security camera video of a previously unknown terrorist group in the act of attempting to steal two strategic nuclear missiles…

"_The mission,"_ Batman had told them, _"is to stop the group at all costs. Under no circumstances are those missiles to fall into the hands of an unknown enemy."_

"_Uhmm…Batman, sir?"_ Kid Flash dared speak up. Batman merely gave him his infamous glare. _"Uhmm…what, if anything, will the League be doing, while we're…uhmm…so totally risking our lives? Sir?"_

Batman grinned in amusement at the question, which in hindsight should have been the first clue that all was not right with the situation. _"The League is currently monitoring the situation and staying apprised of the activities along the Texas-New Mexico border. You kids have nothing to worry about."_ The fact that Batman took the time to answer a _Wally_ question should have been their second clue. Their final clue, as Robin would point out later, was that Batman called the _kids_. Something he would never do. As it turned out, the mission was a just a ruse to get the team out in the open…

Robin flipped backward faster than he'd ever moved, just barely evading the Dark Knight's kick. The Boy Wonder had already managed to dodge a couple of batarangs. To his shock, he realized that the force behind the strike had not been meant to incapacitate, but rather to kill.

Around him, the rest of his teammates also had their hands full, each engaged in a deadly dance with their own mentors.

Kid Flash swerved in time to avoid tripping over the Flash's right foot; at the speeds they were going, an accident could have resulted in a broken leg. Miss Martian dematerialized just as her uncle, Martian Manhunter, flung a huge boulder at her—another narrow miss.

The others weren't faring much better. Artemis had not one, but two archers—Green and Red Arrow—to defend against. Aqualad was barely holding off Aquaman with his water bearers, and Zatanna found herself facing not her father, but Dr. Fate—a Lord of Order against whom she stood little chance.

And the new kid, Rocket, flew in a zigzag pattern at supersonic speeds, weaving a complicated tapestry of contrails that showed her desperation as she somehow avoided her mentor, Icon. This wasn't how they had planned to celebrate his recent induction into the League.

Aqualad, realizing that the team was in serious trouble, sent out a retreat order through their psychic link. _"Everybody…break off and regroup in the bioship!"_

"_Roger-dodger!"_ Kid Flash.

"'_Bout damn time!"_ Artemis.

"_On my way!"_ Miss Martian and Zatanna.

"_Save me a seat!"_ Rocket.

"_Gotcha!"_ Robin. Then, _"Uh-oh!"_

As the others managed to breakoff and make their way to the bioship, they heard Robin's unmistakable _"Uh-oh!"_

"_Robin!"_ Aqualad called over the link.

"_A little busy…!" _Translation: Don't distract me—I'm fighting Batman!

"M'Gann…Go!" At Aqualad's order, Miss Martian flew the bioship over to Robin's last known location.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Red Canyon Testing Range, TX-NM Border**

**Day 1/0930 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin leaped backward, as far away from Batman as he could get. He used a nearby boulder as a springboard, just barely avoiding yet another deathblow. Unfortunately, Batman suddenly snatched Robin's cape and pulled hard. The boy's forward momentum was abruptly halted, and Robin felt himself being unceremoniously hauled back.

The next thing Robin knew, he was slammed on his backside onto the rock-strewn ground. He hit so hard that the air in his lungs was forcibly expelled with a loud _~whoosh~!_

"Okaaay…that hurt," Robin muttered.

Batman held the junior hero down with one hand splayed on his chest, applying painful pressure, making it difficult for the boy to breathe. If he pressed any harder, Robin's chest was in danger of caving.

But as precarious a position as that was, it was the least of the Boy Wonder's worries, for Batman's other hand was holding a razor sharp batarang against the teen's throat.

Robin squirmed frantically, beating his hands ineffectually on Batman's arms. He suddenly felt very small and helpless, a feeling he hadn't experienced since the terrible night his entire family had fallen to their deaths in front of him. He hadn't been able to help them either.

A grim determination came over him. He wasn't that same helpless kid anymore! He was Robin the Boy Wonder—the Dark Knight's partner!

He had to break Batman's hold, but his more experienced opponent only increased the pressure. Stealthily, Robin moved his right hand to his belt, reaching for one of his pouches. If he could just press the release catch—

The next instant, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, indicating that the batarang had broken skin. He felt a wet trickle start down his neck. Grimacing, he looked up Batman, frightened of his mentor for the first time in his life.

Batman gazed back, his expression grim, displaying no remorse at what he was about to do—just cold satisfaction.

"You forgot who trained you." He spoke in a low, raspy growl. "Did you really think you could beat me?"

"Batman…_please_! Don't do this!"

Batman applied more pressure, but he was taking too long. Robin realized that if Batman really intended to kill him that he would have been dead already. Maybe…?

"Bruce…?" Dick reached a free hand up to his mask and yanked it off. His dark blue eyes gazed pleadingly into his mentor's eyes—no, into his father's eyes. "Please, don't do this. It's me…"

Before Robin could react, Batman released the pressure on his chest and grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully, almost pulling it out of its socket. Dick gasped at the sudden pain and spoke through gritted teeth.

"You promised…" (_You'd take care of me, _he left unfinished.)

Batman froze, staring intently at his prisoner. Gone was the cruel, cold stare. The Dark Knight's mouth was drawn into a grim line, his jaw clenched. Dick could see the intense inner struggle that Batman was undergoing. The hand holding his arm tightened reflexively, but the pressure on his neck slowly eased.

Batman blinked.

"Dick…?" He spoke as if he'd just awakened from a long sleep. "What—?" He gasped in sudden pain, holding his hands up to his head. "Dick.._**run**_!"

"Bruce, what's happening?" Dick had stumbled to his feet, his usual graceful moves affected by the pain radiating from his shoulder. Awkwardly, he assumed a defensive stance. He looked uncertainly at his mentor who only moments ago had been set to slit his throat.

"Get _**away**_! _**Now**_!" Batman scrambled away from his protégé on his hands and knees, putting distance between them. "The League's compromised…Vandal Savage…bio/nano tech!" Each word was a struggle to get out. "Alpha-Omega Protocol…_**Go**_!"

Robin's eyes widened and he took off at a run. Alpha-Omega Protocol meant the Justice League was compromised by unknown forces—the members were being held under some kind of mind control. They couldn't be trusted. It was up to him and his teammates to bring them down.

They were on their own.

A loud, angry roar behind him told him that Batman had lost his internal battle to wrest control from whoever had taken him over. He heard the sound of heavy boots pounding and ragged breaths gaining on him. He dared a quick look back over his shoulder and knew he'd run out of time. His nimble fingers pulled three smoke pellets out of his utility belt.

Unexpectedly, he spun suddenly on his heel and tossed the pellets. On impact, they released a harmless, opaque smoke that concealed his movements. He then executed a series of complicated tumbling moves, and with the momentum gained, leaped onto Batman's shoulders. Using them as a springboard, he quickly somersaulted off. In the blink of an eye, Robin pressed a hidden switch on his right gauntlet, which fired his specially modified Taser.

As the two wire leads latched onto the Dark Knight's chest, a non-lethal current flashed toward Batman to no effect. His uniform was insulated against the very Taser that the Boy Wonder had used against him. Batman gave him a knowing smirk and was about to pull off the wires, when Robin pressed the hidden switch in his glove a second time. Instantly, a secondary current with a much higher voltage was sent out, negating the Batsuit's countermeasures against the Taser's original settings.

As per the Alpha-Omega Protocol that Batman had conceived in case any member of the Justice League should ever go rogue, taking down his own mentor was something that Robin had devised and trained for extensively. The second, stronger current was a counter-countermeasure that he and Alfred had built into the Boy Wonder's gauntlets without Batman's knowledge.

Batman abruptly halted in his steps, his body jerking as the voltage affected his nervous system. Robin stood for just a moment longer and watched as his mentor collapsed in place.

Running toward the fallen hero, Robin took out a syringe and quickly plunged it into a vein. He withdrew a blood sample and slipped it into a specially insulated belt pouch. Fighting the urge to stay and render Batman aid, he took off toward the last location of the bioship.

The others were probably already on board. Almost as soon as the thought came, an opening appeared out of thin air about 20 feet in front of him. Kid Flash stood in the open hatch of the cloaked bioship, urging him to hurry.

"_Come on, Robbie! We gotta get outta here!"_

As Robin boarded, he took one last look at his unconscious mentor and made a silent vow that he would free him and the rest of the Justice League of whatever mind control had taken them over.

He knew what he and his teammates must do:

Step 1: Find a safe house.

Step 2: Analyze the blood sample for any signs of a chemical or biological agent or nanotechnology.

Step 3: Develop countermeasures and/or an antidote.

Step 4: Take down Vandal Savage and his allies.

Step 5: Order pizza and celebrate their victory.

_Okay,_ Robin admitted, _maybe I'm getting just a little ahead of myself._

There was no way the junior heroes could take on the whole League and win. There just weren't enough of them and the League was too powerful as a group. Unfortunately, the Alpha-Omega Protocol was only a _last resort_ scenario. The methods that Batman had planned for taking down the individual heroes were designed to debilitate and possibly kill.

Robin didn't think they were there yet. He would initiate the Protocol as a last resort—just as it was designed. No, they had to concentrate on finding out how Vandal Savage had managed to take control of the League and initiate an effective defense against it.

Otherwise they were faced with the very real problem of having to take down each JL member individually. Of course, when he thought about it, the team wasn't all that stood between the JL and possible world domination. There were other heroes out there. The next moment, he discarded the idea. If the Justice League, the World's Greatest Heroes, had been compromised, there was a very good chance that the rest of the world's heroes were too.

These thoughts ran through Robin's mind as he strapped himself to his seat. It was time to go to work.

"What are we going to do?" Artemis was saying. "Did you see them? If Aqualad hadn't called a retreat—"

"—If he hadn't called it, we'd all been toast!" Kid Flash said angrily. "I can't believe that Uncle Barry—"

"They are not themselves," Miss Martian said quietly. "I tried to reach Uncle J'onn telepathically, but it was as if his mind was blocked. There was something preventing me from reaching him."

"The League has been taken over with some kind of mind control," Robin said quietly. "Batman broke through for a brief second—enough time to warn me." He glared at the others. "We need to go somewhere safe and regroup. It's too dangerous to return to Mount Justice. And at this point, the Batcave, Atlantis…all of our usual safe houses are also out of the question."

"But where?" Zatanna asked. She was obviously upset that she had barely escaped Dr. Fate's mage bolts, refusing to accept that the powerful sorcerer was her father.

"I know a place," Robin said quietly. "But first…there's someone I've gotta call." He quickly tapped his fingers on his virtual computer and a scrambled image appeared.

"Master Robin? What is it, young sir?"

"This an Alpha-Omega priority. Make your way to the alternate Batcave ASAP."

"I take it Batman and the rest of the Justice League—?" He left the rest unfinished.

"Roger. And Alfred…? I'm bringing friends."

There was a brief pause on the other end. The scrambled image immediately cleared and Alfred's kind, concerned face replaced it.

"I understand, young sir. I am evacuating even as we speak. I shall meet you at the rendezvous."

"Right…see you there."

"And Master Robin…? We shall get through this." He gave Robin an understanding look and cut the transmission.

"Uh…Robbie?" Kid Flash said uncertainly. "Aren't you kind of…y'know, exposing your whole secret ID thing?"

At the others' nods, Robin sighed while taking in their curious expressions.

"Batman always said that in the case of a global emergency, if the League were compromised or couldn't help, then..." He shrugged. "I guess this qualifies." He removed his mask and gazed at them with his dark, piercing blue eyes. "Hi, my name's Richard Grayson, but my friends and family call me Dick."

Artemis let out a small shriek. "I _thought_ I recognized the old guy! He picks you up like everyday after school. Wait! You? You're Dick Grayson, the geeky mathlete that's like the smartest kid in the whole school? Bruce Wayne's kid? The same little freshman who took a picture of us my first day at Gotham Academy? _That_ Dick Grayson?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah…told you we'd laugh about it one day." He paused and looked suddenly ominous. "Guess today isn't the day, huh?" He turned to Miss Martian and sent her a set of coordinates. "M'Gann, prepare to receive coordinates to our destination."

**End of Part 1**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** Robin shows off his alternate Batcave—the Lair.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1100 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

The others looked on in awe, taking in the "safe house" with wide eyes. It was an underground bunker equipped with everything a Bat could need—or rather, a Boy Wonder. There were two Robin cycles parked on a turntable. Weapons lockers with batarangs, gas pellets, grapnels, re-breathers—just about everything that they had ever seen Robin pull out of his utility belt, as well as, several other items they had never laid eyes on before.

_Wait!_ Kid Flash thought. _Is that a glider? And, whoa…! A jet pack? Oh, man…so unfair—a mini-Batwing!_

"I like your toys," Rocket muttered, impressed. "What _is_ this place?"

"I call it, 'The Lair.' I guess you could say, it's my own personal Batcave—"

"You mean, _Bird's Nest_, don't you?" Artemis snarked.

Robin just gave her a bat-glare.

"But, doesn't Batman know it's here?" Aqualad asked.

"Well…he knows _about_ the place," Robin said. "I mean, he _paid _for it! But he doesn't know its exact location."

"What do you mean, Robin?" Miss Martian asked curiously.

"It's one of our contingency plans," Robin explained reluctantly. "Batman has several alternate setups just like this spread around Gotham…and a few other cities, which we won't go into." Although clearly uncomfortable about explaining, Robin held his head up and looked each one in the eye. "You've gotta remember, Bruce and I—"

"Whoa…waitaminute!" Artemis interrupted. "Playboy gazillionaire Bruce _Wayne_ is Batman? _Really_?"

"We just went through this—" Robin began only to be interrupted again.

"No…we found out that Dick Grayson is Robin. You never said—"

"I think Robin is correct, Artemis," Aqualad interjected. "We need to move on."

Artemis grimaced, but nodded reluctantly.

"As I was saying…Bruce and I don't have any super-powers. So, we sort of gotta be extra vigilant as far as all the metas. Plan for any possible contingencies…just in case." He shrugged.

"You mean, just in case the others go rogue, don't you?" Superboy muttered, his eyes narrowed. "Does that include us?"

Robin didn't answer; instead, his face took on a neutral expression. Realizing that he wasn't going to reply to Superboy's question, Zatanna spoke up. "You say Batman doesn't know about this place. Does that mean that part of your contingency planning includes the possibility that Batman—?"

"—Especially Batman, young miss…Miss Zatanna, isn't it?" They all turned to see Alfred emerging from the shadows. "And you, Master Robin? How are you holding up, young sir?" He gazed upon the youngest hero with unconcealed fondness.

Unable to help himself, Robin rushed into his arms. For just a minute, he allowed himself to be a thirteen-year-old boy who had been hurt by the one person he loved and admired most. Alfred held him, murmuring softly to him.

At last, Robin stepped away and enclosed himself in his cape. He assumed a stoic expression, so much like his mentor that it brought Alfred just a twinge of sadness. _So young…yet, so brave._

"I'm fine, Alfred…really."

The boy looked anything but fine. Alfred frowned at the discoloration around Robin's neck; the obvious fingerprints a sign of his recent attack. Rather than commenting, Alfred nodded and placed his hand on his younger charge's shoulder. Squeezing gently, he said, "We shall get through this, Master Robin. I promise."

Keeping his eyes downcast, Robin nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"In the meanwhile…why don't I make us all a light lunch while the young Master shows you to your quarters? From what I can see, each of you has had a rough time of it today. There are showers and changes of clothing available for those who wish to freshen up. If you leave your uniforms out, I shall take them and endeavor to make repairs."

"Changes of clothing?" Zatanna asked.

"Nothing fancy I'm afraid," Robin said with smirk. "Just sweat pants and t-shirts. Don't know how well they'll fit, since they're in my size and Alfred's." The others groaned at his words. "Oh, and by quarters, Alfred means…" Robin waved his arm at a large, relatively empty room, lined with wall lockers and storage bins.

"What? No beds with comfy pillows and blankets?" Artemis teased.

"Sorry. Since the team formed, I haven't had a chance to install bunks, but Alfred made sure we'll at least be able to sleep off the floor." He opened one of the lockers. "You'll find a cot and sleeping bag in each locker." He pointed to the storage bins. "There's clothes, blankets, towels, and personal hygiene stuff in those." He cleared his throat, and red-faced, mumbled, "Um…Alfred also put some…uh, girl stuff somewhere." The four girls all giggled at his obvious discomfort.

"TMI, Dude!" Kid Flash protested, hands over his ears, which earned him a slap to the back of the head courtesy of Artemis.

"Oh, grow up, Kid Useless!" As the two antagonists went at it with their usual bickering, Zatanna walked up to Robin and quietly placed her hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get through this…Dick," she said hesitantly, as if testing the sound of his name. Her shy efforts were rewarded with an equally shy smile from the Boy Wonder.

"Thanks, Zee. I know, you're right. After all…we were all trained by the very best, weren't we?"

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1200 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

After the YJ teens had showered and changed, they took a brief tour of the alternate Batcave, or rather, the Lair. In addition to what they'd already seen, the place had what Robin described as a uniform vault and a fully equipped crime lab/workshop.

"Oh, _wow_! Is that really an electron microscope? Seriously?" Kid Flash, a science geek at heart, asked excitedly. "Uncle Barry would _kill_ to get one for his forensics lab! But they cost like a gazillion dollars!"

"It's a low-voltage electron microscope, developed by WayneTech a few years ago. It has some advantages over the other, more conventional type of electron microscopes, but it also has its limitations. Still, it's somewhat compact and versatile." Robin paused, shrugging. "When this is over, I'll talk to Bruce about helping your uncle out. The Wayne Foundation awards special grants to police science labs for equipment upgrades."

Kid Flash simply nodded in thanks. _When this is over, _his friend had said—Not _If_. He hoped Robin's words proved prophetic.

Lastly, Robin pointed to a massive computer work area that was obviously the heart of the place. Circular in design, it had several rolling chairs around it, but no discernable keyboards or monitors.

Robin pressed a few switches and buttons, which activated the system. A holographic keyboard appeared directly in front of him and a centralized 3-D holographic display materialized above their heads. Grinning Robin said, "Of course, no _Bat_cave is complete without a _Bat_computer.

"It's comprised of two modified WayneTech super-computers with quad physical/virtual cores. The WT-9p's 48-core 36.18 gigahertz processors are the fastest, most accurate, and most efficient on the market—not even counting the modifications that I made to them."

"_You_ modified them?" Artemis asked skeptically.

Robin grinned. "I first hacked the Cave's supercomputer when I was only eight. I've been helping Batman modify the WTs ever since." He waved his arm at the setup before them. "This has the latest upgrades—different from the system at home." He shrugged. "Can't have Batman and the League hack _us_." Robin typed a command and several additional virtual workstations appeared. "The multiple stations can be combined into one large central display."

"How is this place powered?" Kaldur'ahn asked curiously.

"We have an independent power station," Robin explained. "It has the latest in hydrogen fuel cells, is self-contained, and completely off the grid. Oh, and we have a fully stocked kitchen, gym, and quarters, which you've already seen. Any other questions?"

"Yes, anybody care for lunch?" Alfred asked drolly. He stood in the doorway that led to the kitchen area, his hands behind his back. His question was met with a stampede of approval. The loyal valet merely raised a single eyebrow as the junior heroes all rushed eagerly to the kitchen. This could turn out to be a rather long stay.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1230 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

As the rest of the team waited, munching on some of Alfred's jumbo-sized _hero_ sandwiches (Who said the Wayne butler didn't have a sense of humor?), Robin quickly hacked into the JL Watchtower's security system. _Quickly_ because after he'd initially hacked the system on his first visit to the Hall of Justice at age nine, Dick had left a backdoor to ensure easier access the next time he did it. Plus, it was based on the same operating system as the Batcave's super-computer.

Being a child tech genius, who was also Bat-trained, Robin hid his hacker's trail so well that even Batman hadn't detected it. At least, he didn't think so.

_Of course, knowing Batman, _Robin mused,_ he probably knew the backdoor was there and left it for just this very reason._

"You know, Dick, you could cause some serious world of hurt if you ever turned to the Dark Side," Artemis observed. "I mean…a ninja _and_ a hacker?"

Kid Flash snorted. "You could say the same about Batman—only he's even scarier."

Robin ignored them, focused on the task at hand. After a few minutes' search, he located the file containing Batman's initial analysis of the strange bio/nanite technology that the Dark Knight had been studying. Robin then compared it with what he found in his mentor's blood sample. It was apparent that Batman had not had a chance to finish his analysis of the material before he had been attacked with the nanites; however, Robin recalled the new League inductee, Icon, mentioning that the technology was extraterrestrial.

"I remember that Atlantis was studying the creature—or whatever it is—before the facility was destroyed by terrorists," Aqualad said. "The portion that was recovered was then sent to Star Labs to be studied by surface scientists—"

"—But the sample was probably stolen before Star Labs had a chance to properly analyze it. Maybe _your_ scientists found something that could help us?" Robin mused.

"Perhaps," Aqualad agreed.

"Dick, it's also possible that Star Labs might be able to help us with the blood sample that you took from Batman," Kid Flash added. He raised a hand to forestall a protest before Robin had a chance to voice it. "I know, I know…Batman's secret ID could be compromised, but—" He stopped and gave his best friend a long, knowing look. "—you said it yourself, a global crisis trumps a secret identity."

"That was with _us_, you moron," Artemis protested. "Dick trusts us and knows that we would never—" Robin interrupted her.

"No, Wally's right. With the whole Justice League compromised, we have no idea what Vandal Savage's endgame is likely to be. But we do know one thing—it's gonna be bad." Robin nodded at the others. "Okay…we'll go to Atlantis _and_ Star Labs to see what if anything they can offer us in the way of help."

**End of Part 2**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** This is a little brief, but I haven't had a chance to give the rest of the story a thorough editing. This chapter is just to let you know that I've continued it and will be posting follow-up chapters when I can get it beta'ed.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary:** The teen heroes seek expert help.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1330 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Since it was too dangerous to attempt radio communications, Kaldur'ahn, M'Gann, and Conner left for Atlantis on the bioship. They were the only three members of the team who could actually survive in the ocean depths. In the meanwhile, Dick, Wally, and Zatanna went to Star Labs to confer with the scientists who had studied the bio/nanite tech there.

Raquel and Artemis stayed behind to coordinate and report any changes.

"So, what is this? Leave the new kid behind or something?" Raquel asked. When her mentor Icon was inducted into the League, Rocket was also welcomed into the YJ team. _Was it less than 24 hours ago_? she wondered.

Artemis grinned. "Or something. Hey? Want to try out the gym?"

"You're on, girl!"

They paused at the sound of a throat being politely cleared behind them.

"I beg your pardon, Miss Artemis, Miss Raquel, but I was wondering whether either of you young ladies would care for some lemonade and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies?"

Taking an appreciative sniff, Artemis smiled widely. "So that's the wonderful aroma that's been driving me crazy all afternoon!"

"I'll say!" Raquel agreed. "I mean, M'Gann loves to bake, but I don't think the smells from her kitchen are anywhere close to yours!"

Alfred nodded in acknowledgement of their praise. "If I do say myself—and I believe Master Richard would agree—my chocolate chip cookies taste even better than they smell."

The girls laughed good-naturedly and followed him to the kitchen. They each took a seat at the kitchen island and happily accepted the proffered plate of fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies. For the next few minutes, the two girls did not speak, simply taking the time to savor the heaven that is one of Alfred's chocolate chip cookies and washing it down with his ice-cold, freshly squeezed lemonade.

"Mr. Alfred—?"

"Just Alfred, Miss Artemis." He turned slightly from the sink where he was washing the baking trays that he had used. Everything else had been rinsed and loaded into the dishwasher, which was already running quietly in the background.

"Are you related to Dick or Mr. Wayne?" she asked curiously.

"No, Miss…I have been in the service of the Wayne family since Master Bruce was in diapers—"

"Now that's a frightening image—Batman in diapers!" Raquel protested.

Alfred smiled. "Master Bruce was such a happy child—so much like our young Master Richard."

"What happened?" Artemis asked. "I mean, I've seen Robin smile and crack jokes, but smiling isn't exactly part of Batman's dark and scary image."

His back to them, Alfred paused in his task for a moment. "Things changed, I'm afraid…however, it's not my story to tell." He picked up the tray he'd been scrubbing and began rinsing it.

"And Dick?" Raquel spoke quietly. "I've only been part of the team for less than a day, but I've watched him today. I don't know too many kids his age who are as focused and serious minded as he is."

Alfred had finished drying and putting the bake-ware away. He now stood facing them, nodding sadly.

"Yes…the young master is quite serious at times—way beyond his years, I'm sad to say. But, his natural exuberance and optimism almost always wins out in the end."

Reluctantly, Artemis asked the question uppermost in her mind. "I heard rumors at school that Dick's parents were murdered. Is that true?"

Alfred's stoic demeanor became even more so. "I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to confirm or deny rumors regarding the young master. I would request that you also refrain from asking him about his parents. If he wishes you to know, he will tell you. But please do not broach the subject yourself." Without another word, Alfred walked out of the kitchen.

"Way to go, Artemis," Raquel muttered.

Artemis shrugged. "I guess it's a sore subject."

Raquel nodded in silent agreement.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Star Labs, Metropolis**

**Day 1/1400 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin and his team entered Star Labs by stealth means. The last thing they needed was to telegraph their movements to the Watchtower. Robin's earlier research put a name and face to the two lead scientists who had been studying the bio/tech: Drs. Bernard Klein and Silas Stone.

The trio infiltrated through the ventilation system, Robin wryly observing that no matter the heavy security and vault-like doors protecting the highly classified labs, the building engineers always seemed to forget the air vents.

They watched silently as the two scientists and their team of technicians worked on some type of bio-mechanical prostheses.

"Silas, this prototype of yours is going to be of great benefit to soldiers and others who have lost a limb," Klein said with admiration. "One day, this will help paraplegics walk again. The advancement in medical science and bio-engineering is way ahead of what anyone else is currently doing."

"Thanks, Bernie," Stone said with a smile. "But, just remember, we couldn't have made it work without your programming for the bio/nanites."

Klein made a _~pfft~_ sound at his friend's compliment. The two men shared a small grin. They had come a long way, and they both knew it.

"By the way, I heard that Victor won first prize at his school's science fair," Klein said. "You must be quite proud."

"Oh, I am…I just wish that boy would take his studies more seriously. Did you know that Vic just threw that project together the night before? He had _weeks_ to prepare, but he waited till the last minute." Stone sighed. "He's just wasting his time on football."

"Well, he _is_ pretty talented, Silas. I mean, he has a scientist's brain and an athlete's body." He grinned in self-deprecation. "I would've killed to have been in his shoes when I was his age. Instead, I think I spent much of my own misspent youth getting shoved into a locker by some brainless jock."

"I know, I know…but Bernie, Vic has such a gifted mind. I just wish…" Stone ran a hand through his hair. "He had a chance for a full scholarship to the Luthor Science Academy, but he refused to apply. He's got his heart set on playing football at Metropolis High School." Stone rolled his eyes. "We got into a real shouting match over that. I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy, Bernie. LSA graduates are practically a shoo-in for the best colleges and universities, but Vic wants to play pro ball."

Klein walked up to his friend and put his hand on his shoulder. "You can only do so much, my friend. You can't live his life for him, too."

"I know." Stone looked around and addressed the technicians. "Okay, people, we've reached a good stopping place for now. Go on home. Be back ready to work bright and early the Monday after the New Year."

At his announcement, the lab assistants gave a small, good-natured cheer and began clearing their work areas. They locked up sensitive materials, wiped up any spills, and gave everything a final inspection before walking out, leaving everything in a general state of orderliness. They waved goodbye at the two lead scientists, wishing them a "Happy New Year," before the lab's heavy security door closed and locked behind the last one.

Observing from above, hidden in the shadows afforded by the high ceiling, Robin watched in approval. A meticulous work habit was one of the first things that John Grayson had ingrained in his son, for a carelessly maintained piece of equipment could easily result in a fatal accident in the aerialist family's line of work. Batman further instilled in him a similar work habit when Dick first began assisting the Dark Knight, not only in the Cave's crime lab, but also in the maintenance of their crime-fighting equipment.

Like his dad's admonition that orderly work habits were important to the Flying Graysons' very survival, Batman's own teachings served to reinforce the Graysons' legacy of safety through preventive maintenance. This was a philosophy that had been proven time and again, when the Dynamic Duo's very lives had depended on a piece of equipment working properly. It was a habit that Dick carried into his daily life.

As soon as the two scientists were alone, the team rappelled silently down. They followed the unsuspecting men to their office, which was located just off the laboratory. The scientists were seated at their desks, catching up on their reports, completely absorbed in their work.

Giving Kid Flash and Zatanna an ironic quirk of his brow, Robin spoke. "Excuse us, doctors?"

Stone jumped in surprise, accidentally tossing the piece of tech he'd been holding into the air. He clumsily grabbed for it, but only succeeded in spilling the contents of his coffee cup onto the paperwork lying on his desk.

"Oh, crap!" he exclaimed.

"What the—?" Klein looked up in surprise.

While all of this was happening, Kid Flash dove and caught the piece of equipment, one-handed, inches from the floor.

"Good catch, KF," Robin said.

"My notes! They're ruined! Do you know what you kids have done?" Stone ranted. "Weeks of observations lost!"

"Zee, could you—?" Robin looked at Zatanna, his eyes finishing the question.

Nodding, Zatanna concentrated. She held her wand out before her and recited a quick incantation. _"Srepap—yrd! Eeffoc puc—dnats thgirpu! Erotser lla ot tahw ti saw erofeb." _(Papers—dry! Coffee cup—stand upright! Restore all to what it was before.)

To the scientists' amazement, everything changed back to how it was prior to the coffee spilling on the report.

"How did you do that?" Klein asked excitedly. "I've never seen anything like it! Would you mind if we ran some tests? Can you imagine the benefits to mankind if we could replicate the conditions required to release the amount of energy you just did to negate the actions of the past few minutes? There has to be some kind of extrasensory manipulation of energy at the subatomic level—"

"Or, perhaps that of time itself—" Stone added, jumping in.

"You think that's possible?" Klein asked his colleague interestedly.

"She just reversed the whole coffee spill as if it never happened," Stone said, pointing out the obvious. "If she can do that, it's only a matter of—"

Klein would have to wait to find out exactly what his friend was about to say, because a throat being politely cleared in the background interrupted Stone's train of thought.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt, sir," Robin said, "but our mentors would have a real problem with the whole idea of us being test subjects of any kind. You understand…Batman, the Flash, and Zatara are pretty protective and would probably get a little upset if anyone tried to study us."

At the mention of the three Justice League members, Klein swallowed and exchanged a look with Stone. Nodding, Klein cleared his throat nervously and spoke soberly. "I think we understand."

"Good. Glad we cleared that up," Robin said ironically. "As for why we're here? We could use your help."

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Royal Palace, Atlantis**

**Day 1/1500 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Aqualad brought his right fist up to his left breast in salute and dropped to one knee as a show of respect to his monarch, Queen Mera. Superboy and Miss Martian followed suit. "My Lady Queen, thank you for seeing us under such short notice," Aqualad said in greeting.

"Nonsense, Kaldur!" Mera protested. "You are a dear and vital member of this household." She walked up to him and offered him her hand, helping him to his feet. Aqualad bowed his head in thanks as she took his arm. Turning to the others, she spoke warmly. "Glad tidings, M'Gann…Conner. It is good to see you again. Bring you news from Arthur?"

Kaldur'ahn bowed his head slightly. "Yes, my Queen. However, I am afraid that I only bring Your Majesty grim tidings. May we speak in private?"

Mera bowed her head regally. "General Vulko, We shall be Our private chambers." The general's right eyebrow went up at the queen's invoking of the royal _We._ It was a sign that what was about to transpire behind the closed doors of the royal chamber was a matter for the Crown. "Please, see that We are not disturbed."

General Vulko brought his right fist up to his left breast and gave her a curt nod. "As my Lady Queen commands, it shall be so." The general held his position thus, until the queen and her party exited the throne room and entered the private elevator to the royal chambers. At that point, Vulko stepped up to the royal dais and took up his position to the left of and behind the two thrones of the king and queen.

If Ocean Master himself dared try disturb Atlantis' beloved queen, he would first have to face-off against General Vulko, the Monarchs' own Royal Champion.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Star Labs, Metropolis**

**Day 1/1600 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin stood back, willing himself not to show his impatience. As it were, Kid Flash was practically vibrating with barely suppressed frustration. The two scientists had instantly agreed to help them and were even now studying the blood samples under the electron microscope. However, that had been almost two hours ago, and they still hadn't finished with their initial investigation.

"Scary little buggers," Stone muttered. He managed to separate one of the nanites from the blood sample for study and closely examined the readings he was getting. Finally, he looked up. "Apparently Batman was correct. These nanites attack the body's nervous system and flood the brain stem with a chemical that renders the victim open to mental control."

"Can you counteract its effects?" Zatanna asked.

Klein's reluctant shake of his head was barely discernable. "It would take us several weeks to break it down to its base components, and then we'd need more time to find the means to counteract it." He looked at them. "I'm assuming you need this a bit sooner than that?"

"Doc, you don't know the half of it," Kid Flash said. "We—"

"Hold it, KF!" Robin interrupted. "I'm getting a message from Artemis." His fingers flew over his glove's virtual computer keyboard. Robin's overly serious expression brightened suddenly, giving him a surprisingly boyish look. "She says that Aqualad reports success. They're on the way back." The next instant he again assumed his more usual Bat-like demeanor. "Okay…we have a counteragent, but now we're going to need a delivery method. Injection is too slow—"

"Not to mention dangerous considering who we're up against," Kid Flash added.

"So, we'll need something that can be quickly absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream," Zatanna said.

"And delivered from a distance," Robin added. "Any ideas?"

Klein and Stone began speaking over each other, excitedly. "We've got just the thing—!" Klein began hurriedly.

"—Something we developed for the Black Hawk Squadron—!" Stone interrupted.

"—An aerosol delivery system—!" Klein jumped in.

"—That can be incorporated into several different, but—" Stone gushed.

"—Readily available containers!" Klein finished with a triumphant smile.

The young heroes couldn't help returning the scientists' infectious smiles. Maybe they could beat this thing after all.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**End of Part 3**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** As I promised, here's the next chapter. Dr. Bernard Klein is well known to fans of _Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman_, and Dr. Silas Stone is the father of Vic Stone, AKA Cyborg. This story is AU, so some of the characters that I use in the story may or may not also be like they appear in canon.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary:** Robin visits a trusted friend; the teens enjoy a brief, quiet respite.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis **

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1700 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Back at the Lair, the YJ team set to work. Robin opened the weapons vault and took out several items that could be of use: utility belts, gas pellets, gas grenades, explosive batarangs, and more. Quickly, he gave his teammates instructions on each item and how to load it with the aerosol antidote. Leaving Artemis in charge—she being the only other teammate who used defensive weapons—Dick changed into civilian clothes, carefully securing his utility belt under his overlarge hoody.

Going to the communications console, he put on a headset and then placed a call to a special, unlisted number. It was a direct line to one of the handful of people who knew the Bats' real identities. Better yet, it was a number that even Batman didn't know. The distant end was picked up on the first ring.

"Yes?" The deep, masculine voice spoke in its familiar, melodious tones.

"Alpha-Omega Protocol."

"Understood. It's ready." The brief, clipped sentences were all the voice said before the line went dead. Dick removed the headset, and sensing a presence next to him, looked up at Alfred. He nodded in answer to the man's unspoken question. Without further words, he took the backpack that Alfred held out to him and headed toward the vehicle parking area. Donning his helmet, he climbed on his motorcycle—a Black Knight 350—and kicked it into life.

As soon as Dick took off with a resounding roar, a camouflaged door sprang open, revealing a hidden tunnel. Dick followed the tunnel for several miles, his way illuminated by automatic lights, which were triggered by photoelectric eyes as he zoomed by. The bike's powerful, halogen headlight cut through the gloom that shrouded the Gotham underground as Dick navigated the often treacherous, water-covered concrete floor with confidence.

The tunnels were part of the city's ancient subway system, built before the turn of the 20th century. They had been abandoned for the wider, more modern tunnels with better drainage that had been dug in the decades following the Second World War. On occasion the Boy Wonder passed underneath an air vent and heard the roar of the subway trains overhead. He came to a steep curve that descended for an eighth of a mile before straightening out again. This happened twice more before he approached an area that opened up and branched out into three tunnels. Without hesitation he took the left tunnel, which twisted into a series of dangerous, sharp s-curves for another couple miles.

At last after almost 30 minutes of hard riding, Dick came to the end of the tunnel. A solid wall of brick and mortar lay straight ahead with no sign of an exit. Not slowing down, Dick aimed directly for it. Pressing a hidden button on his handlebars, he smirked as the "solid wall" split down the middle and retracted into the wall on either side, leaving an opening just wide enough for a single motorcycle…

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair Annex**

**Day 1/1745 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

As Dick passed through the threshold into the deeper blackness beyond, he felt his surroundings open up just as a series of recessed lights began to turn on. He carefully slowed his motorbike and brought it to a complete stop. As the lighting brightened, vague, shadowy shapes began to take definite form. At last, the lights reached their designated luminosity, revealing an underground laboratory.

Standing in the middle of the lab, wearing his usual tweed suit over a cashmere V-neck sweater, was the head of WayneTech Research and Development, Lucius Fox. Fox smiled in greeting as Dick hurriedly removed his helmet and headed toward him. Wordlessly, Fox waved him toward a lab table along the wall. He flicked a switch on a machine that was set up to the side, and immediately, the components on the table were projected onto the facing wall. The items were also magnified ten fold, making it easier for Fox to go over the smaller pieces in detail…

"…and _this_ is the key," Fox said, wrapping it up, "the _n_th element, which is the main component that powers the Zeta-beam. It's a very rare substance under the direct control of the Justice League." He turned a raised eyebrow at the boy before him. "And just how did you happen to get your hands on it? I know for a fact that Batman keeps this in a special vault on the Watchtower. It's all inventoried and accounted for on a regular basis."

Dick shrugged. "It's not my fault that the Watchtower codes are so similar to the Cave's or that certain members of the League are less than…let's say…_vigilant_ when they're on monitor duty and don't bother to check the vault for any discrepancies."

"I don't suppose this Leaguer wears green and carries a bow and quiver?" Fox guessed.

"Halloween night. I sneaked onboard the Watchtower while Batman was chasing R'as al Ghul in the Middle East. I knew GA was on duty 'cause Artemis told me just before she and Zee took off for some kind of girls' night out or something. The others were going to a costume party at their school. They invited me, but…" Dick shrugged. "I see enough real costumed crazies. I don't need to hang out with a bunch of kids who think it's fun to dress up as the Joker." Dick smiled up at Fox, amused by the memory.

"You remember that when Batman tasked me to set up a bolt hole, he gave me specific instructions to make that he wouldn't be able to find out anything about it. Well, it's really hard to set up something as elaborate as the Lair when the guy I need to hide it from is the very guy who's paying for the whole thing." He gave Fox an amused glance and shrugged.

"I figured that with him off who knows where chasing Talia—" He coughed and cleared his throat in feigned embarrassment to Fox's amusement. "—I mean, Ra's al Ghul, and with GA on monitor duty, I wouldn't have a better shot at getting onboard the Watchtower. So, I hacked the Zeta transporter platform controls and had it recognize me as Red Tornado. I knew he was in temporary stasis back on the Mountain. I've also known for sometime now that GA likes to take naps while on duty—when he thinks that Batman won't catch him. And, I when got there, sure enough, he was logging in some serious _z'_s."

Fox chuckled at the mental picture.

"B and I worked on the belt design as an academic exercise. It was just an idea for a nice-to-have-piece of tech that we believed at the time was still years away from actual deployment. Anyway, since he _ordered_ me to let my imagination run wild, when I stocked the Lair, I thought again of the belt."

"But when you hacked the Zeta transporter controls, you clearly demonstrated that you were able to sneak onto the Watchtower without a need for the _n_th belt," Fox pointed out.

"Yeah, but even as I was doing it, I knew that there might come a time when I needed to get onboard but using the Zeta platform could prove dangerous."

As he spoke, Dick ran his hands over the _n_th belt and its myriad electronics. It was a miracle of modern technological design. Even the people of Rann didn't have anything close to this, and they were the ones who had shared their Zeta technology with the Justice League. If the belt worked according to specs, then the wearer would be able to transport anywhere within range of a Zeta beam, and he wouldn't have a need for a Zeta platform at the distant end, because the _n_th belt acted as a miniaturized platform.

"And it works?" Dick asked, cutting to the chase. "Because where we're going, there'll be no second chances." He shuddered at the thought that he might enter the Zeta transporter and never rematerialize at the other end, his atoms scattered into infinity.

"It works, Dick. I guarantee it." Fox held the boy's intense blue eyes, wondering not for the first time at the vagaries of nature (or, perhaps nurture in this case) that had produced such a brilliant young mind and allowed Fox the privilege of watching as it developed and matured.

"Was there enough _n_th material for a second belt?" Dick asked hopefully.

Smiling Fox produced a second _n_th belt. "And before you ask, there's enough _n_th material for a total of four belts. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to make them. But, as this is an emergency, I'll get on it straight away." He shrugged in apology. "It will take me at least a couple days, though."

Dick scowled in disappointment. "That'll be too late." Shrugging he accepted that he couldn't change the circumstances. "It's okay. Put them together anyway, just in case. In the meantime, we have other ways to get onboard the Watchtower if needed. Still, these belts will get the initial team in." Dick nodded his thanks and shook Fox's hand. "Thank you, Mr. Fox. B isn't in any shape right to thank you himself, but I know that once we get this little problem licked, he'll want to thank you personally."

"No need for thanks, Dick. Just…be safe."

"I will, sir," Dick said, taking the two belts and stuffing them in the backpack he had brought with him. "Oh, and before I forget." He took out a small vial with a reddish liquid. "This is a sample of the antidote that Atlantis produced for us. We really need a lot more, especially if this whole thing blows up in our faces. If that happens, Commissioner Gordon will have to be brought in. We'll need his help and all the GCPD manpower that he can mobilize." The grave expression he gave Fox was one that the head of WayneTech felt should never be seen on such a young face. "Bruce and the Justice League—Earth's greatest heroes—are being controlled by Vandal Savage, Klarion, and an organization that calls itself the Light. We have no real way of knowing just how many people they have inside their cartel. We can't underestimate the danger to all of us."

"I won't let you down, Dick," Fox promised.

Nodding, Dick returned to his motorcycle and climbed on. "I'll bring Bruce home." Donning his helmet, he gave Fox a two-fingered salute and roared off.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1900 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

It was early evening when Robin returned to the Lair. Aqualad was standing in the middle of the motorcycle turntable, waiting for him. As soon as Dick pulled to a stop, Aqualad spoke.

"Did you meet with success?" the YJ leader asked.

Removing the helmet, Dick nodded. He took an appreciative sniff and smiled. His mouth watered at the delicious aroma of Italian cooking. "Smells like dinner," he observed.

"Perhaps we should head toward the kitchen," Aqualad suggested, "lest Wally eat everything in sight."

Dick laughed out loud at the Atlantean's small joke. It was not often that the serious team leader attempted any type of humorous comment, so he appreciated the effort. Smiling in agreement, the two teens walked toward the kitchen together.

"Master Richard," Alfred called looking up from where he had just placed two heaping plates on the table. Dick saw that the plates were filled to the brim with a large helping of spinach lasagna. A slice of garlic bread and wild greens salad were served on the side. Dick caught Kaldur'ahn's eye and indicated Wally's place setting with his chin.

The teen speedster had three overflowing plates before him, plus a basket of garlic bread and a supersized salad bowl. As Dick and Kaldur'ahn watched, Artemis groaned in disgust. "Yuck, Baywatch! At least chew with your mouth closed! We're all trying to eat here!"

Wally paused in the midst of shoveling another round of multiple forkfuls of lasagna and salad into his never completely closed mouth and gave her a blank look. "Whu—?" He mumbled, spewing a few not-quite chewed pieces of food. Artemis ducked, screeching in outrage.

She reached for her table knife and was about to throw it at the clueless speedster, but Dick quickly grabbed her wrist and prevented her from following through on her intentions. When she struggled against his holding her back, Dick applied a little bit pressure in just the right place, which forced her to drop the knife.

"Hey! What's the idea?" she demanded.

"House rule," Alfred intoned drolly. "One never throws a weapon while seated at the table." He turned toward Wally, giving him a pointed look. "Also, one never speaks with one's mouth full." Winking slightly at Dick, he then glared at the rest. "The family silver and tableware are not to be used as either offensive or defensive weapons, except in the case that one is under attack during the meal." The oven dinged, indicating that something else was ready to be removed. "If you ladies and gentlemen will excuse me." With that Alfred turned back to his kitchen duties.

"You have a house rule against fighting at the table?" Raquel asked. "What kind of dinners do you usually hold?"

"Are you kidding?" Wally asked, thankfully with his mouth no longer bulging with food. "Do you remember who you're talking to?" He took a sip of his milk. "Uncle Barry and I attended a formal dinner at Wayne Manor one year. It was some kind of honors thing for police officers, and Uncle B had been cited by the FBI for breaking a serial murder case that year."

"I remember," Dick said. "Commissioner Gordon was really impressed with your uncle. Said that Barry is probably the best forensics scientist in the country."

"Yeah, and besides breaking the serial murder case through the forensics evidence, Uncle Barry was also instrumental in catching him."

"So…you were at the dinner?" Zatanna prompted.

"Oh, yeah. The dinner and keynote speaker had already ended, and the guests had moved to the ballroom," Dick began.

"Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris were dancing and having a really nice time," Wally added.

"When, of course, the Penguin decided to show up," Dick finished with a shake of his head. "You'd think he'd learn. The last time he tried holding up one of Bruce's parties, the manor's security forces knocked out his goons with a minimum amount of fuss." He shrugged at the others' strange looks. "Not every little problem in Gotham City requires Batman and Robin."

"Ain't that truth," Wally said with a grin. "So…Penguin appears and says something that sounds like, 'Wahk, wahk, wahk…everybody turn over your valuables,' or, you know, a really bad villain line like that."

"Bruce and I just kind of looked at each other and rolled our eyes. I mean…seriously? He intends to rob a ballroom filled with cops?" Dick grinned in amusement at the memory. "We didn't even have to do anything. Before Penguin knew what hit him, Gordon's men had him and his henchmen in handcuffs and were slamming the paddy wagon doors in their faces. As they drove off, I heard him yelling, 'Wahk, wahk…wahk happened?'"

The others laughed in appreciation. It was nice to forget the current dire circumstances even if for just a few minutes. A moment later, the young heroes' faces grew pensive, and without further word, they returned to their meal. Evading their mentors' attack and having to hide for any period of time from the most important people in their lives was already taking a toll. A few minutes later, Alfred managed to draw a few reluctant smiles when he presented them with a beautiful Napolean pastry.

The Italian dessert had three layers of puff pastry, alternated with pastry cream. It was topped off with a glazed white icing and chocolate stripes. For those with large appetites, there was also vanilla ice cream. The girls groaned and shook their heads in protest; while, the boys eagerly nodded their heads at the additional treat.

After dinner all the teens insisted on cleaning up over Alfred's protests. Before the elderly butler could argue, he found himself seated on one of the more comfortable chairs, his feet elevated. On a side table immediately next to him, a tray with all the necessary makings for tea was laid out for him: a teapot filled with hot water; a selection of teabags; a delicate teacup and saucer; milk and sugar. The young people even brought him a pillow and blanket to help him relax.

With a speedster, a magician, and a telepath on the team—not to mention an Atlantean who could make water dance to his commands—the kitchen was sparkling within a few minutes. Dick inspected everything to insure their efforts met with Alfred's exacting standards, while Artemis and Raquel put away the leftovers. (Rocket even placed a protective positron field around the refrigerator to prevent Kid Flash from finishing off the leftovers while no one was watching.) Their teamwork proved the old adage, "Many hands make light work."

At 9:00 p.m., Aqualad called the team together for a strategy session. Nodding at Robin, the team's tactician and strategist, Aqualad stood to the side. Robin and Aqualad had already discussed the plan and gone over some initial scenarios. The entire idea was risky, but they both agreed the danger was necessary. They were dealing with their mentors and the Injustice League. Playing it safe or doing nothing was not an option…

End of Part 4

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** Lucius Fox in comics canon is not privy to the Wayne family secret (although, like Commissioner Gordon, many believe that he suspects); however, I am following the movie and cartoon canon (_The Batman_: S4E12, "The Joining") where he is not only part of the inner circle, but also the creative mind behind the majority of the Bat toys. The motorcycle—the Black Knight—is mentioned in _Batman: Forever_.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary:** The Team goes over its strategy for "Operation: Bastille Day." Alfred reminisces about his fateful meeting with Dr. Thomas Wayne.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis **

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 1/1900 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Aqualad stood aside for Robin to begin going over the strategy for "Operation: Bastille Day."

"We can't take the fight to the Justice League just yet," Robin said straight from the top. "They're too freaking powerful and a whole lot more experienced than we are. And…as we all saw out at the Red Sands Testing Range this morning, we can't fight our own mentors one-on-one. They know us too well."

"You got that right," Rocket interjected. "I mean, I know that Icon is all that and everything, but it was like he could anticipate my every move—"

"Yeah…it was almost as if Uncle Barry knew what I was thinking even before _I _knew what I was thinking." Kid Flash's eyes widened at this last comment. "Hey—you don't think—?"

"—That they can actually _read_ our minds?" Artemis finished skeptically. Then in a smaller voice, added, "I mean, not really…right?"

Robin and Aqualad both shook their heads. "I do not believe that is so," Aqualad said, his tone reassuring. "They simply know us too well, and as Robin stated, they are much more experienced. These qualities only make it seem as if they can read our minds. Unfortunately, it also makes them quite formidable opponents."

"Ain't _that_ the truth?" Artemis grumbled.

"Okay, we know what we're up against," Robin said. "Remember, we know them too—their strengths _and_ weaknesses. We'll need to use that to our advantage." He looked away for a moment, not enjoying the thought of plotting against their mentors—Batman especially. "So…in order to have even the _slightest_ chance against the League—and hopefully avoiding fighting our mentors directly—we need to team up with a partner and coordinate our attacks."

"I don't have any problem partnering up with a member of the team," Artemis said. "But how do we know that the League members who come after us won't _be_ our mentors?"

"We don't," Aqualad admitted. "However, by teaming up and coordinating our offensive and defensive moves, we stand a better chance of either avoiding direct contact, or at least, not having to face them alone."

"So, what's the plan?" Rocket asked.

"We have to draw them out," Robin began.

"How?" Kid Flash asked, not liking the sound of it. "We're not gonna dangle ourselves out like fish bait, are we?"

"Something like that," Robin admitted. "We're going to set up three similar terrorist scenarios in three different major cities, the idea being that this is the Justice League. If there are cities being attacked by unknown forces, then the League will deploy small teams to investigate."

"What if they don't?" M'Gann looked doubtful. "I mean…why should Vandal Savage care if there are cities in the US being attacked?"

"He probably won't," Robin said. "That's where the bait comes in. Once the explosives go off—"

"What explosives?" demanded Kid Flash.

"The explosives that you and I are going to set up, KF."

"Oh…those explosives," Kid Flash muttered, still unclear about the situation.

Robin sighed. "Here's the deal. We are going to set off a series of controlled explosives at the same time in three locations—Gotham City, Metropolis, and Washington, D.C. The explosives will be low yield, but produce a big bang…um, more like a big light show. In other words, they'll be the f/x type used on Hollywood sets—they look impressive, and yeah, they're still dangerous, but they're mostly more light and noise than destructive."

Aqualad stepped in. "We are getting ahead of ourselves, Robin. Please, explain the steps leading up to the explosions."

"Right…I was getting to that," Robin said hurriedly. "I have enough explosive material here in the Lair to make three good pyrotechnic shows. More, if we need them. Each of the cities I mentioned has a large, centrally located park that we can use in the predawn hours while it's still relatively empty."

"But what if some homeless people happen to be sleeping there?" Artemis protested.

"We'll call local TV stations, police and fire departments ahead of time to warn people," Robin explained. "We'll claim that we're some kind of wacko group fed up with the government. I don't know; we'll think of something. Anyway, we'll first do a recon and evac anyone we find near the blast radius before we blow anything up."

"Dick…?" Zatanna spoke up shyly, still hesitating over addressing him by his given name. As Dick turned to her, both youngsters blushed and ducked their heads. The older teens looked away to hide amused smiles.

"Um…yeah?" Robin mumbled.

"What did you mean that we're going to be bait?" Zatanna asked in a low voice. Shrugging, she added, "I don't really understand." As she spoke, she looked up hesitantly and met his eyes.

Smiling, Robin in turn almost forgot her question. Aqualad's clearing his throat and catching his eye, finally got Robin back to the discussion.

"Right! Bait! Ah…I mean, _us_ as bait." Robin took a split second to compose his thoughts. "My idea involves calling TV stations and other media outlets in the three target cities. We're going to claim that we belong to a group no one's heard of before, and that we're fed up with the status quo. We'll also give them the exact time—5:30 a.m.—that we're setting off the preset explosives. Shortly before the explosives are to go off, we'll call the local police and warn them, too." He gave everyone a questioning look to see if they were following him. They all nodded.

"As soon as the media vans begin to show, and the police sirens can be heard approaching, the explosions will begin to go off. At the same time, one of our teams will show up and take care of the problem. Which is probably when the real threat shows up—the Justice League."

"How does that help us, though?" Rocket protested. "I mean, we take care of the explosives so that the League doesn't have to? How is _that_ a good thing?"

"The League won't show just because there's been an explosion." Aqualad spoke in a clear, patient voice as he again explained this point. "Remember, they are being mind controlled, and the person or persons responsible—Vandal Savage—will not care if a random act of violence occurs in three separate cities."

"What he will care about, though—" began the Boy Wonder, only to be interrupted by Zatanna.

"—Is capturing the team of sidekicks that eluded them once already—_us_!" The teen enchantress spoke excitedly, a look of dawning understanding lighting her beautiful features.

"That's right!" Robin said with a grin. "By our showing up in smaller numbers, the League will probably consider us a lesser threat than as a whole group."

"They got that right," Kid Flash mumbled. The others ignored him.

"Okay…it sounds good so far," Artemis said. "But what about their powers? What if this so-called antidote doesn't work? Where does that leave us?"

Dick smiled. "I'm glad you asked." He gestured behind him to a table that had several items laid out on it. "Voila! Meta-negation collars—no self-respecting hero should be without one." He held one up and began pointing out how the mechanism worked. "It's easy. You simply press this red button to release the locking mechanism." He quickly demonstrated. The red blinking light changed to green. "It then slips easily around the meta's neck." He demonstrated it on himself. "Once around the neck, you press the same button to lock it." The blinking green light reverted to red. "So…green means it's unlocked. Red—locked." Removing the collar, he added, "Of course, make sure that you restrain them, if you don't want them to just wake up and take it off. On a final note, the collar is self-adjusting, which is pretty cool, 'cause the same collar that I just used on me will also work on Superman."

"Seriously? It works on Big Blue?" Kid Flash asked skeptically.

Robin nodded. "The tech's similar to those used on Mongol's War World." He smirked. "Batman smuggled it out after that whole gladiator spectacle the League was forced to participate in."

"Like someone else said…sure glad you're on _our_ side, Boy Wonder," Rocket muttered.

Robin acknowledged her with a shrug and an impassive look. He then turned to Aqualad, and the YJ leader nodded, taking back control of the meeting.

"All right. This is what we're going to do…"

It took another hour or so of planning and preparation, before the young heroes felt satisfied that they were ready to go.

Robin felt especially satisfied that after some coaxing, Alfred had agreed to be their "phone voice," because as the Boy Wonder had explained, "He's the only one of us who _sounds_ like a grownup. And…because Alf was once a star of stage and screen!"

"Master Richard, I was most certainly never a star of any sort, nor was I ever _on screen_, as you say." He turned to the others, and speaking modestly explained, "In my more wayward youth, I was sufficiently naïve to believe that I could make a go of it on the stage, scandalizing my family in the process, I assure you. The Pennyworth men have been in the service of the great households of England for several generations. A Pennyworth has served proudly in Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and other royal residences throughout our history. Fortunately, my stage career was but a passing fancy, and I eventually returned to the family fold."

"Don't let Mr. Modest here fool you guys," Robin said. "He's _really_ good! Last year, when I got stuck having to play Mercutio in a school production of _Romeo and Juliet_, Alfred really helped me with my lines and other stuff. But the best part was when he showed me the right way to fight with a sword. My director was so impressed that he asked Alfred to choreograph the sword fights for the whole production!"

Robin went on to describe how with Alfred's tutelage he and the rest of the cast were able to bring down the house with their excitingly realistic sword fights. In the end, everyone involved in the production had been extremely proud of how it all came together. Alfred had even given a standing ovation by the audience for his choreography.

"Oh, and helping with school stuff's great and all, but the best part of Alfred's stage background has really been a big-time help in the field. Batman told me that during his first year, Alfred showed him how to get into character the first few times he went undercover." Robin snickered at the memory. "You tell 'em, Alf! You say it _way _better'n me."

"Than _I_, Master Robin," Alfred said with a roll of his eyes. "You say it much better than_ I_."

"No, I don't…_You_ say it _way_ better."

"Never mind, Master Robin," Alfred said with a long-suffering sigh. "I understood you the first time." Robin looked at the others who were busy hiding their snickers behind their hands.

"What?" he asked with a shrug.

The others caught the twinkle in Alfred's eye as he shook his head at his charge in obvious fondness. "What Master Robin was referring to is an incident that occurred quite early in Batman's mission." His face took on a faraway look of reminiscing. "He had only recently started on his nightly sojourns. In fact, we were still finalizing the suit's design—still a work in progress, if you will. Therefore, he decided to try something new. Rather than confronting the villains head on, he deemed it necessary to infiltrate their secret society." Alfred smiled, shaking his head in amusement at the memory.

"I must be completely honest with you…" He chuckled. "Back then? Master Bruce was still relatively young and somewhat inexperienced; however, he was filled with a self-confidence and sense of purpose that were almost frightening at times." He paused, his expression becoming somber. He felt rather than saw the looks of open interest and eagerness on his young audience. Each teen hero appeared anxious to hear more about the Batman's early years.

Alfred shook his head as if to clear it and continued. "But I digress. At any rate, one night I came upon my young master as he prepared to go out—only not as Batman, but as a smalltime hood looking for action. I took one look at him and chided him for attempting to go undercover with the shoddy workmanship that went into his disguise. I believe I told him that he looked more like Bruce Wayne on a weekend bender than a scoundrel just out of prison." The others laughed at the incongruity of Batman being anything other than fully in control of a given situation. "I convinced him that his so-called disguise would not fool anyone, and that he would probably have a knife in his ribs within thirty seconds of opening his mouth."

"What happened?" Zatanna asked, her blue eyes wide with guileless curiosity.

"I spent the rest of the night and part of the following day helping him with the New Jersey accent he was attempting to affect—and doing a _jolly_ poor job at it, I dare say."

"Did you show him how to do anything else?" Superboy asked shyly. Naturally reticent, these were practically the first words that the Boy of Steel had spoken that evening.

"Besides his accent and showing him to deliver a line realistically," Alfred replied with a smile, "I also showed him the proper way to apply stage makeup—"

"—Makeup?" Wally uttered in astonishment. "Batman wears makeup? Man…that's a scary thought! Batman with eyeliner and lipstick—!" This comment earned him a slap to the back of the head, courtesy of Artemis. "_Ouch_! What was _tha_t for?"

"He wears makeup for his _disguise_ while undercover, genius!" The two antagonists glared at each other. Then as if rehearsed, stuck their tongues out at each other like five-year-olds. "Oh, that's mature, Baywatch," Artemis sneered.

"You're one to talk, blondie!"

"When are you two gonna just get a room, and leave the rest of us in peace?" Robin demanded. The next instant, Robin's brain caught up to his mouth, and he realized what he had just said. Clapping his hands over his mouth, he gave Kid Flash and Artemis and apologetic, if slightly amused glance. "Sorry, dude…um, Artemis."

"Master Richard!" Alfred said, sounding both reproving and scandalized at the same time. "I believe that you were taught better than that."

"I'm really sorry, Alfred," Robin said, sounding sincerely contrite. Alfred appeared slightly mollified at the heartfelt apology, so it came as no surprise that he readily forgave his younger charge.

At this point, Aqualad interceded on behalf of everyone to turn in early. "I believe that we have done all we can for the night," Aqualad said. He checked the time. It was 10:00 p.m. "Why don't we all turn in and get a few hours rest? We have a long day tomorrow." The others nodded in agreement. They had no way of knowing when they might get another chance of uninterrupted sleep.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 2/0345 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

The lights in the "dorm" room went on suddenly. "Ladies and gentlemen…it is time," Alfred said quietly. "The first team is already up and about. I suggest that you do the same. Breakfast in fifteen minutes." The youngsters groaned at the early morning wakeup. They may have been superheroes, but they were still teenagers. They needed their sleep, and lately they had not been getting their fair share.

"When this over," Artemis moaned, "I'm going to sleep for a week."

"I hear that," Rocket agreed.

Although reluctant to get up, the teens were dressed and seated at the breakfast table within ten minutes. They knew that they couldn't afford to drag their feet. The timeline was critical, and they needed to be enroute to their locations by 4:30 a.m. Robin and Kid Flash had already left in order to set the explosives. By the time the other teams deployed, Robin and KF would have completed their end of the mission, and KF would be on his way to rendezvous with Aqualad in Washington, D.C., for the second leg of the mission…

Although Alfred usually told others that he was former stage actor, his past was murkier than he let on. His efforts onstage had mostly been a cover for his true calling, that of a field operative in Her Majesty's Secret Service. He had in fact met Dr. Thomas Wayne while on assignment in Central Asia. As luck would have it, Alfred had been wounded and Dr. Wayne had saved his life. Shortly thereafter, Alfred reciprocated by saving his. Thus began a lifelong friendship that was tragically cut much too short.

Today, few knew that the outer façade of the Wayne family's gentle major domo hid an underlying layer of steel. To look at him, one would never guess that Alfred had been quite the adventurer in his younger years, having taken part in several hair-raising missions that rivaled that of James Bond. Of course, those who knew rarely spoke of it. And if one were to attempt a background check on Alfred Pennyworth, British expatriate turned US citizen, he would find that interestingly that there was no record of him prior to the birth of the Waynes' first child.

As he made his way to the communications console, Alfred reflected on his past life and the choices he made as a young man that had led to this moment: The son of his two closest friends—the boy he had raised to manhood—had almost killed the boy that he in turn had raised.

All this heartbreak had been wrought upon his family by this scoundrel, Vandal Savage and his shadowy organization. He had attacked Alfred's family, bringing them nothing but pain.

_Whatever happens,_ Alfred vowed, _I shall see this villain brought down._

**End of Part 5**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** Alfred's past is a bit murky, having changed several times along with the DCU. I believe that it is accepted that he acted onstage sometime in his past. Also, there have been some oblique references to his having served in British Intelligence; more recently in the AU Batman Earth 1, Alfred was said to have met Thomas Wayne several years ago and to have saved his life. I added the war in Afghanistan.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary:** Alfred takes on a role. The residents of three great metropolitan cities are rudely awakened by the sounds of explosions. To the surprise of the major news outlets on the scenes, the junior partners of the JLA come to the rescue.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 2/0430 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Now, it was Alfred's turn to impress his young audience. Taking some deep breaths, he took a moment to find his center, before going through the old exercises he remembered from his days on the stage. After a few minutes of total concentration, he looked up at the teens gathered round him.

Without any type of costume change or stage makeup, Alfred stood transformed. He was no longer the Wayne butler; he was…someone else—someone darker, more dangerous. He shoved his way wordlessly through the junior heroes, crossing toward the communications console.

As one, the youngsters instinctively took a step back. They were all shocked by his sudden change. M'Gann floated toward him, her features apologetic, but for what, she did not know. She did not get far.

"Stay back!" Alfred repeated. "What do you think this is? A convention? We have work to do!" He glared at the teens. "You—with the gills! Stay! The rest of you—?" He glared at the others. "Make like a tree!" The youngsters regarded him with various blank looks. Alfred rolled his eyes. "And _leave, _ya geniuses! Guess it don't take no brains to be a hero," he grumbled under his breath. He caught sight of Zatanna, as she was about to leave the communications room.

"You, with the legs!" Alfred pointed at her, leering. "Make yourself useful. Zap me a cup of coffee—I take it black."

Zatanna seemed to shrink at his tone. Then, coming to terms with the idea that Alfred had assumed a role, she jutted her chin out bravely. "Cream or sugar?" she asked.

Alfred gave her a pitying look. "Don't you know what '_I take it black'_ means? Never mind! I'll get a cup later. Now, scram. I got work to do."

At Aqualad's nod, the others moved out of the room.

Alfred noted that they looked a little dazed by his sudden transformation from a kindly older gentleman into an uncouth lout. As he watched them file out, figurative tails between their legs, he saw M'Gann pause at the door and look back hesitantly. She made tentative eye contact with him, and Alfred graced her fleetingly with an amused half-smile and wink. He was immediately rewarded by a grateful smile, before M'Gann hurriedly turned and left.

"It's just me'n you, fish-boy." As Alfred spoke with casual disrespect to Aqualad, he leaned back against the computer console. "I don't want no interruptions, see? I don't want the others' distracting me while I make the calls…or running the risk of their voices being recorded accidental-like. Each performance has to be flawless. There will be no second chances."

"Understood." Standing at parade rest, Aqualad nodded his acknowledgement. "If I might ask, sir. You sound completely different. Is this what you meant when you said earlier that you'd assisted Batman to affect a new accent?"

Alfred glared at him for a moment, then relaxed slightly and stepped out of character. He smiled. "Indeed it is, Master Kaldur. I shall attempt three distinctly different accents: New Jersey, South Boston, and Sarvani." He added proudly.

"Sarvani?"

"The common dialect of Sarvanistan, a country in Central Asia, I once visited. Of course, all this is only possible because, prior to leaving for his mission, Master Robin ensured that our communications can be neither traced nor recorded. Please, do not ask me how. I'm afraid such abilities are quite beyond my skillset."

Aqualad smiled at Alfred's self-deprecation. "Robin is well-versed in the inner workings of the digital world. However, I am also certain that what you are about to attempt is something that cannot be replicated by machine. This…_skill-set_, as you say…requires the human element."

Nodding at Aqualad's words, Alfred closed his eyes and centered himself, once more. When he opened them, a different person peered out—someone colder, more menacing.

"Let's do it."

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Cathedral Square Apartments**

**Gotham City**

**Day 2/0445 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

…She was just about to accept the Kerth for best TV newscast—Take _that_, Cat Grant—when the phone's insistent ringing from the nightstand shattered her moment. She hurriedly, if somewhat clumsily, reached across for it, knocking a few items off the nightstand. At last, her hand closed over the phone and, still half asleep, she brought it to her ear.

"H'lo," she mumbled.

"Summer Gleason?"

"Sp'king." She was quickly falling back asleep.

"Robinson Park, this morning at 5:30 a.m.! Gotham City needs to wake up now!"

"Wha—? Who's'is?" Summer asked. She was barely half-awake, her mind confused.

"The _Movement_ is coming! And to show you that we mean business—" The voice continued as if she hadn't interrupted.

Summer managed to sit up in bed, fumbling for a small notebook. "Can you please repeat who you said you were? Was that 'The Movement' with a capital or a small letter?" Her inane questions were geared toward keeping the caller talking. But, as she herself wasn't operating on all cylinders, she didn't think she was doing very well.

"This is your only warning, Gotham City! Make sure that Robinson Park to the south of the central fountain is evacuated by 5:30 a.m. today, for the sake of everyone's safety." With those words, the caller hung up. As the voice had been speaking—probably reading from a written cue card—Summer had finally come fully awake.

The voice on the other end had sounded like a real wacko, but she couldn't take a chance. She sat for a moment, running over the caller's words of warning. Should she chalk it up to a crank call? Or could this be the real McCoy?

Unknown to the television news anchor, at about the same time that she'd been woken up by the mysterious caller, two other reporters were being likewise jarred from their sleep: Lois Lane of the Metropolis _Daily Planet_ and Cat Grant of Channel 10 WGBS, Washington, D.C.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Robinson Park**

**Gotham City**

**Day 2/0530 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

The explosions shattered the pre-dawn quiet of Gotham City, startling citizens still in bed and early commuters on their way to work. The location of the disturbance was centered in and around Robinson Park. The shrill wail of sirens announced the quick-response forces of the GCPD and GCFD. To the surprise of no one, the media vans arrived first, and the television camera crews caught two teenage girls—one barely out of pigtails, the other only a little older—actually containing the latest explosion.

One television reporter, a pretty blonde in her mid-to-late twenties, immediately began reporting live to her morning news viewers:

"This is Summer Gleason of Channel 4 Eyewitness News, Gotham News Network, reporting live with breaking news at the scene from just outside Robinson Park. A series of explosions rocked the city's early morning quiet, just a few minutes ago. Upon arriving at the scene, we witnessed that the explosions were being dealt with, not by Gotham's own Dynamic Duo, but by two relatively new junior superheroes." She turned to her cameraman and asked, while pointing in the direction of one of the girls, "Les, can you zoom in over there?"

Nodding, Les panned the camera to the older of the two girls and zoomed in, adjusting the focus just as her hands began to glow in what was obviously a power build-up. In the blink of an eye, she released a massive amount of energy and aimed it directly at the explosion.

"The older, the African-American girl is projecting some kind of powerful force field that's keeping the latest explosion from expanding. She is identified as _Rocket_, the teenage partner of the hero, and newly inducted member of the Justice League, _Icon_." The camera zoomed in on the force field, showing the explosive debris fighting for release.

Next, the camera panned over to and zoomed in on Zatanna. "The second girl—in the top hat and tails—is waving what I believe is a magic wand. She appears to have just uttered an incantation, which has done something to the explosive material contained inside Rocket's force field. My producer has just identified her as _Zatanna_, the daughter of Zatara the Great." Summer paused in awe, watching as the girls rose silently into the air, in defiance of gravity. Flying heroes were nothing new, of course, but it was still a sight to behold for the earthbound masses.

"Oh, my! Both girls are levitating (or is it flying?), apparently under their own power. But wait! Rocket has just released the force field that was keeping the explosion contained!"

Ducking instinctively, she turned to her cameraman. "Les, are you getting this? Ladies and gentlemen, you are not going to believe this! I wish you were here so you could experience its full effect for yourselves. What would have been deadly shards of burning metal and other materials is now nothing more than a rainbow of brightly colored pieces of confetti fluttering gently in the breeze as they fall to the ground." Summer laughed out loud. "And you saw it here first, on Channel 4 Eyewitness News. This is Summer Gleason, reporting for GNN—"

The next instant, further explosions interrupted the reporter, momentarily knocking her and the cameraman off their feet. Apparently, the two junior heroes were now being attacked by Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Red Arrow, all of whom had appeared overhead, balanced on an emerald platform. The platform was a power ring construct projected by Green Lantern, who flew alongside them in a wingman formation. From the platform, the two archers were firing explosive arrows at the junior heroes, while Black Canary was directing her lethal canary cry at the first responders, who had set up a defensive perimeter.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Summer gasped as she ran. Her professionalism overriding her fear, she frantically directed her cameramen to pan around at the destruction surrounding them. "As you can see from the destructive aftermath, members of the Justice League have launched an unprovoked attack. Onsite reporters, emergency personnel, and other bystanders are being knocked around and scattered like ten pins." She paused, pointing the cameraman mutely to a fire truck that was hurtling past them. "Police cars, fire trucks, and other emergency vehicles are being picked up and tossed about like dry leaves. A few have even been ripped open—like tin cans!"

Summer looked around her and saw something that gave her hope. "Les, over there…Look! I don't believe it! Are you getting it on camera?" At his nod, Summer took a deep breath of relief and twirled her hand in the air. The consummate professional, she had just signaled Les that she was going to let the camera speak for itself, rather than recite a play-by-play of the action before them.

The two teen heroes had immediately gone on the offensive at the first signs of attack. Rocket sent a powerful positron bolt toward the green platform, upending it, and tossing the two Arrows and Black Canary overboard. She next turned her attention to Green Lantern.

Zatanna, meantime, magically transformed the ground immediately below the three falling heroes into a large air mattress. Before they could get their bearings, however, the young sorceress had conjured a lovely pink bubble in which to encase them. Next, she deliberately punctured the air mattress they had safely landed on, and it began to hiss as it released a reddish, gaseous cloud. Within a few moments, the three rogue heroes fell unconscious.

While Zatanna was busy with the Arrows and Black Canary, Rocket was dueling with Green Lantern—green power energy versus positron energy bolts; emerald shield versus positron magnetic force field. In the end, the duel came down to one important factor: Green Lantern's compromised will.

Since an outside force was manipulating the Emerald Knight, the hero was not performing at his peak, and Rocket was able to trap him in a containment field. As soon as Rocket had GL—an experienced, Justice League founding member—temporarily subdued, Zatanna magically transported three gas pellets into the positron force field. Not long afterward, GL joined the other heroes in dreamland.

The girls moved in quickly. Rocket surrounded Green Lantern with a positron energy field, and then knelt down next to Black Canary. She snapped a meta-negation collar around BC's neck and pressed the locking mechanism. The blinking green light changed to red, indicating that the collar was now locked in place. Rocket then zip-tied the three Leaguers.

Zatanna, meanwhile, had stepped up and directed her wand in GL's direction. Taking an apologetic look at one of her personal heroes, she uttered a backwards incantation, "_Ecrof dleif, wolg wolley. Etagen eht gnir fo rewop." _Force field, glow yellow. Negate the ring of power. Immediately, the force field changed from a pulsating blue-and-white glow to a bright steady yellow, and GL was a fly in the amber.

With that final act, the teen heroes rose in the air, levitating the unconscious Justice Leaguers along with them.

While everyone's eyes had been on the battle and its aftermath, unseen by anyone, a sleek black shadow shot out of the park on a southwesterly heading toward an unspecified area.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Centennial Park**

**Metropolis**

**Day 2/0530 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

"…and in an unusual twist, the explosions are being handled by, I believe, Kid Flash and Aqualad. There has been no sighting of Superman, as of yet, but it seems that the teen superheroes have the matter well in hand. Kid Flash is spinning his arms at such high speeds that he's created a cyclone effect. The super-high winds are actually helping contain the explosive material into a small, localized area. Aqualad, meanwhile, is using his water bearers—at least, I think that's what they're called—to put out any fires caused by the explo—"

The world famous newspaper reporter stopped in the middle of speaking into her mobile phone, gaping at the unexpected sight of Hawkman and Plastic Man—in the shape of a hang-glider—appearing out of the sky and attacking the boys.

"Jimmy! Are you getting this?" she yelled at Jimmy Olsen, her photographer. The cub reporter nodded eagerly.

"Lane! Olsen!" The tinny voice of their editor Perry White could be heard shouting over the open cell phone line. "Great Caesar's Ghost! What the hell is going on out there?"

"Gosh, Miss Lane! Why do you suppose the Justice League's attacking the junior heroes?"

"I don't know, Jimmy, but once I find out, I'm adding another Kerth to my collection. Come on, let's see if we can get a better angle from that rooftop."

Lois pointed at the long, one-story outbuilding that, partly owing to its central location, was used as a kiosk and snack bar during the day. At Jimmy's nod, the two reporters ran at a low crouch to the dumpster on the side of the building. Jimmy quickly gave Lois a boost up, helping her climb onto the dumpster's closed lid. He quickly scrambled up after her. From there, it was a simple job to act as her stepladder, so that she could climb to the roof of the building. Again, Jimmy scurried to catch up, and was soon lying prone on the roof next to her as they both looked down on the battle below.

"It looks like a regular donnybrook, Miss Lane," Jimmy observed, snapping away at the heroes battling each other.

"Jimmy, how many times do I have to tell you to stop hanging around Clark so much? He's ruining you."

"Gosh, Miss Lane, Mr. Kent is a great guy. You should just give him a chance."

"That'll be the day," Lois muttered. Taking out her cellphone, she settled back to, once again, report on what she was seeing, shouting over her editor's rants in order to be heard.

"…and where the hell is Kent?" Perry demanded.

"Haven't seen him, Perry," Lois said dismissively. "Besides, we don't need him. Jimmy and I are doing just fine without him."

"I don't care! When I assign a reporter to a story, I—"

"Perry, do you want the story, or do you want to keep on interrupting?" Lois paused momentarily, making sure Perry was finished being Perry and was ready to listen as she called in her play-by-play.

"From where we are, it appears as if the Leaguers are advancing in an uncoordinated attack. The teen heroes, meanwhile, are both standing by calmly and waiting for their much more powerful and experienced opponents to fully show their intent. I don't _believe_ this," she said over her cellphone. "Kid Flash is again creating a super-cyclone, but this time by running in a counter-clockwise circle. The high winds and updrafts are tearing off some of Hawkman's wing feathers. Even Plastic Man is having difficulty maintaining his shape. The gale-force winds are actually twisting him around into a pretzel shape."

Jimmy nudged her, calling her attention to Aqualad. "The teen hero from Atlantis is currently standing knee-deep in the park's ornate water fountain. What is he doing—?" As they watched, the Atlantean withdrew his water swords from their sheaths on his back, which triggered the tattoos along his arms and back to begin pulsating in a strange silvery-aqua glow. The pulsation quickly moved up and down his arms and onto his water swords. Moving to an internal metronome, he appeared to be dancing as he called the water forth—flinging, shaping, and twirling it in a graceful, deadly choreography.

"It looks like Aqualad is planning to do something with the water from the park's historical water fountain. It appears that he is feeding water to the cyclone that Kid Flash has created, making a giant waterspout. Oh, my! The velocity of the water is so high that when it strikes, it's with a force hard enough to—_Whoa_!—knock both Plastic Man and Hawkman out of the sky!"

"Miss Lane, look!" Jimmy pointed at Kid Flash and Aqualad, who were directing Hawkman and Plastic Man's fall into the fountain by slowing their descent just enough that the fall did not kill them, but still rendered them unconscious. When the adult heroes were safely incapacitated, Kid Flash disarmed Hawkman of his _n_th-mace and, moving at super-speed, literally tied Plastic Man in knots. Aqualad then snapped a meta-negation collar around the Thanagarian's neck, while Kid Flash did the same with the shape-shifter.

As the reporters watched, the Leaguers began to stir and appeared on the verge of regaining consciousness. They never had a chance to wake up, because Aqualad sprayed something in their faces. Whatever it was, it almost immediately put both heroes back to sleep.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The National Mall**

**Washington, D.C.**

**Day 2/0530 EDT**

"…This is Cat Grant, Channel 10 WGBS, Good Morning D.C., reporting live with breaking news from the heart of the nation's capital near the tidal basin. The National Mall is even now under lockdown by order of the Capital Police. Several federal agencies have become involved in what is quickly turning into some kind of brouhaha. Just minutes ago, the Mall was rocked by several explosions believed to be linked to a heretofore unknown terrorist group. Surprisingly, the explosions were summarily contained and taken care of by two junior members of the superhero community: Miss Martian and Artemis.

"Miss Martian is believed to be not only related to the Martian Manhunter, but also his protégé. Similarly, Artemis is reported to be Green Arrow's new protégé and, possibly, even a member of his family. As soon as the Capital Police give the all clear, we're going to move in and try to interview the two teens—"

A powerful energy bolt suddenly cut through the pre-dawn gloom.

"What the hell?" Cat cried out. "Ladies and gentlemen, you will not believe this! Dr. Fate has just appeared, literally from out of nowhere, and has launched an unprovoked attack on the two junior heroes, just barely missing them!" Cat gasped as she was suddenly grabbed by the collar and jerked back. "What the—?" Her cameraman dragged her along with him, pushing and shoving her behind their news van. "Rick, what's the idea?" she demanded.

Her answer came less than a heartbeat later as several energy blasts rocked the very spot where they'd just been standing.

"_Who __**dares**__ interfere with Fate?"_ The crowd of emergency personnel and news media looked up as one. The blue and gold figure of Dr. Fate glared down disdainfully at the crowd. His golden helmet winked in the starlight and his Cloak of Destiny billowed in the slight breeze. In the subdued lighting, the Amulet of Anubis glowed from where it hung around his neck.

"_It is decreed that the two females have overstepped their bounds,_" Dr. Fate intoned. _"You petty mortals have interfered in matters far beyond your ken. This shall not be tolerated. Fate will __**intervene**__!"_

"Why don't you go _stuff _yourself, Doc?" As Artemis uttered the words, she let fly with three of her gas grenade arrows. Before any arrow could reach its mark, Dr. Fate magically grabbed them in midflight and held them aloft in arrogant triumph.

"_Impudent, child!"_ Dr. Fate roared. As he held his arms forth, a golden ankh took shape before him, the first sign that he was about to release some serious magical forces. _You would dare—?"_

A shimmer in the air behind the mage was the only indication that everything wasn't as it seemed. A slender hand appeared out of nowhere, holding a miniature aerosol spray canister. Before the powerful Lord of Order sensed the attack, Miss Martian had already spritzed him directly through the eyeholes of his helmet—Dr. Fate's most vulnerable spot.

Unprepared for the attack, Dr. Fate succumbed to the sleeping agent that had been mixed in with the antidote.

Artemis, relieved that the League's powerful sorcerer had fallen for such a simple trick, laughed weakly. "I should feel insulted they only sent one guy after us. Baywatch and Aqualad got two."

"Then perhaps you should feel fortunate that you have, indeed, another opponent to face!"

Artemis and Miss Martian, who had been huddled over Dr. Fate's supine form, looked up from their ministrations. Seeing who had been sent to further challenge them, Artemis rolled her eyes. The two junior heroes stood as one and glared at Aquaman, their stances exuding attitude.

"What are you going to do?" Artemis taunted. "Call one of your whale friends to attack us?"

In response, Aquaman held out his arms, gestured with his hands, and, to the girls' shock, a wall of water began to rise from D.C.'s famous tidal basin. It soon reached the height of a two-story building, and with a sweeping wave his arms, Aquaman sent it roaring toward them.

"I don't freaking believe this!" Artemis cried out. Miss Martian grabbed her and flew them both out of the danger zone in the nick of time. "How come _I_ didn't know Fish King could do _that_?" the archer complained.

"I had no idea that Aquaman could manipulate water in a manner similar to Aqualad," Miss Martian admitted. She suddenly slapped the side of her head. "Hel-lo, Megan!" she cried. "Aqualad told me once that all of his people have the ability on a limited basis, but that only those who demonstrated a gift for it when young were then mage-trained, as he was. He told me that his king, while gifted with a strong telepathic mind, is not trained in the magical arts."

"So what are you saying? That he'll drown us by accident?" Artemis pointed ironically at the floodwaters that were suddenly swamping the National Mall. A small hand waving from the top of the Channel 10 WGBS news van caught her attention. They had to do something soon, before the whole city was underwater.

"What I'm saying is that his power over water is limited. He can't manipulate it the same as Aqualad. Therefore—"

"—Therefore, he's just another two-bit super-villain who's about to _go down_!"

"Exactly." Miss Martian gave Artemis a look filled with determination. "Ready?"

"Hell, yeah! Let's lock and load!"

"…In the end," Cat Grant said, by way of wrapping up, "the combined teamwork of Miss Martian and Artemis, _and_ their ability to augment one another's abilities, were the keys that brought down both Dr. Fate and the King of Atlantis. This is Cat Grant, signing off for Channel 10, WGBS, Good Morning, Washington. Back to you, Jack, in the studio!"

Also, unknown to the gutsy TV journalist, a judicious spritz of antidote and knockout gas ensured that the two unconscious heroes would not cause the girls any further problems while being transported. Artemis and Miss Martian high-fived each other in celebration after they placed a meta-negation collar around the King of Atlantis' neck.

"Oh, yeah… someone's gonna be grumpy when he wakes up," Artemis muttered.

"Too bad Dr. Fate's magic makes him immune to the collar," Miss Martian said regretfully. "I have a feeling that if the antidote doesn't take with him, he's going be a bit unhappy with us."

"Ya think?" Artemis shot an incredulous look at her teammate as they boarded the bio-ship, the unconscious forms of Dr. Fate and Aquaman in tow, courtesy of Miss Martian's telekinesis.

End of Part 6

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** First, thanks go to Ellen for taking the time to beta-read this chapter. Believe me, it is a much better story because of her help.

**Acknowledgements** to . That website just seems to have information on every hero in the DCU—popular and obscure. It helped with Rocket, a character that I know next to nothing about. I modeled Lois, Jimmy, and Perry White after the characters in _Superman: The Movie_. The _Kerth_ is a fictional journalism award, popularized by the TV series, _Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman_. Sarvanistan and its language Sarvani are both fictional.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary:** Superboy finds himself envying a certain Boy Wonder.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Gotham River Gorge**

**Day 2/0600 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

The black shadow flew nap-of-the-earth at a good old-fashioned, terrain-masking altitude and made its final approach from just below the sheer canyon walls that hugged the Gotham River. Its flight pattern used the heavy trees and underbrush that covered the Bristol Hills to help camouflage the aircraft's presence. The pilot's noteworthy skill at the controls was somewhat assisted by the plane's latest stealth technology from Ferris-Wayne Aeronautics, which included a non-metallic, invisible-to-radar airframe, coupled with a propulsion system that had the latest in sound reduction and low infrared signature.

From inside the mini-Batwing's cockpit, Robin checked the real-time live feed from the security cameras just outside the hidden entrance to the Lair. It was _all clear,_ meaning no spies were skulking around. Better yet, there was no Batman to second-guess or undermine him. "Guess I must've _really_ pulled the wool over him, after all," he muttered. The very next minute, guilt washed over Dick like a tsunami.

Of course, it was a good thing that the currently mind-controlled Dark Knight was otherwise occupied. But remembering how Batman attacked him and deliberately hurt him in the New Mexico desert sent a shiver up and down his spine. Still, Bruce had fought through the mind control long enough to warn him. Dick straightened his shoulders and vowed that he wouldn't let his guardian and mentor down.

Robin thought of the explosives that he had placed in Robinson Park. Before he'd set them off, he and Kid Flash had first ensured that the blast zone was completely empty of bystanders. It had mostly been a controlled explosion—much like the special effects in a Hollywood movie—with just enough bang-for-the-buck to look impressive. During the night, he and Kid Flash had set the explosives in a total of three municipal parks along the East Coast—Robinson Park in Gotham City, Centennial Park in Metropolis, and the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

All of the explosives went off like clockwork. They had been set to go off simultaneously, to simulate a well-timed and coordinated terrorist attack. The Justice League had arrived in small teams, just as predicted. Dick brought the mini-Batwing to its final approach to the Lair's entrance, as he ran over the steps for the next phase of the mission: Storm the Bastille…

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Lair**

**Day 2/0610 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Superboy and Alfred monitored as the mini-Batwing came to a soft landing in its designated space. Indecipherable coded information scrolled rapidly up and down the computer monitor. He gave Alfred a questioning look.

"Master Robin is running quickly through the post-flight checks." No sooner had Alfred explained, than Robin exited the aircraft. He casually flipped out of the cockpit and somersaulted down to the cave floor. As the Boy Wonder headed toward their location in the Lair's main area, Alfred shook his head in exasperation. "Why simply climb down a perfectly good ladder, when one was born to fly?"

"He can fly?" Superboy asked, surprised. At Alfred's raised eyebrow, Superboy sighed. "That was what my lit instructor calls a metaphor. Wasn't it?" He shook his head. Sometimes it was difficult to infer what people meant, when they spoke figuratively. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I guess that's just one more thing the G-gnomes must've left out."

"Master Conner, do not despair. You are young, yet. You'll have many more years to learn the nuances of not only language, but also human interaction. That's what growing up is all about. Look at me… I'm practically in my dotage, and I'm still learning new things each day."

Superboy smiled. His eyes, the same unusual color as Superman's, lit up with the inner light of a supernova. The infamous Superman curl, which Superboy made a point of always combing back, even chose that precise instant to fall over his forehead. There was no doubt just who the boy's "father" was at that moment. Which was when Robin suddenly walked in.

Robin looked at them expectantly. "Did you monitor the news feeds?" he asked. At Alfred's nod, he said, "Then, you know it went like clockwork. It's time for Phase Two. We ready to go?"

Superboy simply nodded. He often wondered how a relatively normal human boy—and a young one at that—could have the confidence that Robin exuded during the normal course of a mission. Not to mention, how could Robin have reached the level of training that he had achieved at his age? From overhearing Black Canary and Batman talk (having super-hearing could have its advantages, at times), the Boy Wonder was a skilled fighter in several of the martial arts. And while he did not actually understand the reference, he had once overheard Batman mention that Robin's acrobatics made his fighting style unique.

He watched as Alfred held out the specialized _n_th belts and other equipment needed for the mission. Both Robin and Superboy took one of the belts. As Superboy began to put his on, he became aware that Robin was standing awkwardly in front of Alfred.

Superboy suddenly became very interested in the _n_th belt and its controls. He walked far enough away to give Alfred and Robin some semblance of privacy. Although he didn't mean to eavesdrop, his super-hearing easily let him hear what they were saying.

"Master Richard," Alfred said, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, "we shall get through this. You will find Master Bruce, and you will bring him home to us."

Robin removed his mask and looked beseechingly at the man who had so easily stepped into the role of indulgent grandfather in his life. "But what if something goes wrong? What if Bruce—?"

"Now there will be none of that, young sir. You will succeed in doing this, because you must."

"But what if—?"

"No buts! Master Bruce trained you as his partner because he has faith in you, as have I. _You_ must have faith in yourself, as well."

Robin nodded solemnly. At last, he raised his chin and looked Alfred steadily in the eye. "You're right, Alfred. I was trained by the very best and I won't fail." He gave Alfred a grateful smile. "I guess I already knew that, but thanks for reminding me." With that, the young teen straightened to his full height, a look of grim determination in his boyish features as he reapplied his mask.

After handing Robin the equipment he needed for the mission, Alfred took a step back. "Godspeed, Master Richard… Master Conner."

Superboy looked up from where he had been trying, with great difficulty, not to eavesdrop. The teenaged clone could not help envying his younger teammate. Robin had not just one, but two people in his life who cared for him. Batman might not be himself right now, but even Superboy, who still had very poor people skills and had trouble reading the subtleties of body language, could see that Batman and Robin's relationship was more than just one of mentor and partner.

Having been rejected by the Man of Steel, Superboy had definite _father-figure _issues_; _however, in all fairness, he had seen that despite the Dark Knight's somewhat intimidating outward appearance, Batman had shown, on more than one occasion, that he actually cared about each member of the team—not only on a professional level, but also as individuals. Still, there was only one junior hero to whom Batman showed anything more, and that, of course, was Robin. It was never overt or obvious. If one did not know to look for it, then it was easy to miss.

Kid Flash often made snarky comments about not envying Robin's being the partner of such a scary boss. Robin's only response to date had been, "Don't knock it till you try it, Fleet Feet." This usually led to some inane argument over who was the better mentor and partner, the Flash or Batman. Neither junior hero had ever reached an agreement, leaving Superboy to wonder at the pointlessness of quarrelling over it.

Instead, Superboy elected to simply stand back and observe those around him. By doing so, he had begun to catch subtle patterns in the Dynamic Duo's behavior. He had seen how Robin seemed to sparkle whenever Batman gave him the slightest bit of attention—from a hand on the shoulder to the barest lift of an eyebrow. Robin's happy response invariably drew the minutest softening in the Dark Knight's demeanor. Superboy might have been created only a few months ago, but he wasn't blind. He had come to realize that Batman was Robin's father, long before the Boy Wonder had revealed his secret identity.

Superboy thought of Superman's rejection all those months ago, and the Man of Steel's continued inability to so much as look him in the eye. He thought it ironic that his other DNA donor, Lex Luthor, had done more to reach out to him than had the hero. Of course, Superboy had known from the beginning that Luthor was not to be trusted, and that anything he received from the billionaire would come at a high price.

Still, it had been nice for a time to pretend that, perhaps, Luthor might not have had any ulterior motives when he had reached out to him initially. That fantasy had been shredded with Luthor's utterance of the two words, "Red sun." The post-hypnotic command had basically shut Superboy down, rendering him unconscious, immobile, and totally helpless. Thankfully, M'Gann had removed the post-hypnotic suggestion from his mind. Now, Superboy really was 100 percent in control of his own destiny.

Curiously, Luthor's selfish manipulations and Superman's selfish refusal to acknowledge him had left a deep ache in his chest every time he thought of his two "fathers." Superboy did not really understand what the strange, confusing sensation meant. He also did not understand why it felt all the keener whenever he saw the Dynamic Duo standing side-by-side at the computer console, Batman unconsciously running his hand through Robin's hair or placing it momentarily on the boy's shoulder.

Even the Flash and Kid Flash together made him feel a deep emptiness. He would watch as the two speedsters spoke in that funny speed-talk that only they could understand. He would stand back as they zipped into the kitchen and gobbled their way through the leftovers in the refrigerator, leaving small cyclones in their wake, as they sped from point A to point B.

While Superboy had not known then what this empty feeling in his chest was, watching Robin's demeanor since Batman's attack had given him new insight. Whereas, during a mission, Robin could generally be counted on to keep the team dynamic somewhat light, with his constant banter and chatter, now, he had become much more serious and withdrawn. Robin still smiled and even joked at times, but one could tell that the Boy Wonder's heart was simply not in it. Superboy knew that Robin now suffered from the same, achy emptiness in his chest as he did.

It was up to Superboy to help Robin rectify the problem. If Superboy understood Robin's background correctly, then the younger boy had already lost both parents to a deliberate act of sabotage. Now, the man who had been raising him since then, the same man to whom Robin looked up for much more than training, had tried to kill him. Superboy thought he understood what the younger boy was going through at the moment.

He had only caught the barest glimpses of Robin's demeanor in the ship after he escaped from Batman. But in that brief instant, Superboy had understood. And he was determined to help Robin return to his former, happier self.

"Hey! Ready to go?" Robin asked, his cheerful façade fooling no one. At Superboy's nod, the Boy Wonder activated the _n_th belt he wore diagonally across his chest and, smirking, said, "Then, beam me up, Scotty!"

The two boys disappeared in a sudden white flash.

**End of Part 7**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been sticking with the story so far and reviewing. I really do appreciate the encouragement. Also, a special thanks to Ellen—beta-reader extraordinaire!

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary:** Robin and Superboy work their way through the crawlways of the Watchtower. Klarion and Vandal Savage have a slight difference of opinion.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/0630 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

"Who's Scotty?" Superboy was asking, as they rematerialized onboard the Watchtower. From the dim lighting and endless corridors, Superboy guessed they had been transported to the lower storage levels. Back in the Lair, Robin had shown him the overall makeup of the satellite on the holographic map. Superboy had paid enough attention that he knew he would be able to find his way around.

Robin shook his head in mock horror. "Three words, Superboy: _Star Trek_ Marathon. After this is over, it'll be you'n me back in Mount Justice in the common room, just chillin'. We'll have a huge bowl of buttered popcorn between us, sugary drinks that I'm not allowed to have at home, _and_ the DVD collection of the original series! It's a date!"

"A date?" Now the Boy of Steel was definitely confused. He didn't want to hurt Robin's feelings, but he didn't think that the younger hero was his type. He was about to say something, when Robin held up a closed fist, alerting him that company was coming.

Without speaking, Robin signaled Superboy to stay in the shadows on the ground level, while he went high. Moments later, the Flash walked in, his usually relaxed, loping gait looking unnaturally stiff. The Atom rode carefully, balanced on his shoulder. Neither hero said anything, nor looked to the left or right. Instead, both could have passed for zombies with their cold, wooden expressions.

As Robin and Superboy watched, the Atom leapt from his perch and landed on a worktable. He walked up to a sealed container and opened it. From what the two teens could observe, the container appeared to be a mini-freezer. Whatever the Atom was after, it required cold storage.

As the Atom moved away from the open door, they saw what was inside. The Flash stepped forward and retrieved a medium-sized, transparent bio-container from the freezer unit. The bio-container was somewhat fogged over from the cold. The junior heroes could only make out the vague, shadowy outline of something sitting inside the container.

The Flash laid the bio-container on the table and waited for the Atom to scan it. The boys were not sure what the Mighty Mite was looking for, but they were willing to place bets on a possible biohazard contamination. Within a few minutes, they had their answer. It was the stolen sample of the alien creature that was the source of the mind-controlling nanotechnology. As they watched, the Flash nodded to the Atom and disappeared in a blur. The Atom took out a laser scalpel and began to cut the alien sample into razor-thin slices. Robin felt an involuntary shudder go through him.

The Atom was going at his task with such a matter-of-fact mien that he seemed to be no more than a mindless automaton. At that thought, Robin went cold. It was difficult to imagine that the Atom, a brilliant theoretical physicist in the fields of black holes and anti-matter, had been turned into a mindless zombie. And what of Batman? Robin shook off the dark clouds looming over his thoughts. The team _had_ to succeed.

Taking out two marble-sized gas pellets, Robin dropped them on the table a few inches away from the Atom. The pellets made a plinking sound as they hit. The Atom spun around at the slight noise and spied the familiar black spheres. He immediately activated his size-control belt and, as he increased in size, he swiped the gas pellets from the table before the gas could overcome him. Superboy jumped out of his hiding spot, just as the Atom reached again for his control belt. The Boy of Steel charged the Mighty Mite, but as he was about to grab him, the Atom shrank suddenly out of reach. Closing his arms around empty air, Superboy could not stop his forward momentum and ended up stumbling off balance.

Before Superboy could regain his feet, the Atom popped up directly above him and kicked him behind the neck—with three times the mass of a six-foot, 190-pound man. It was an unfortunate time for Superboy to discover that the little Leaguer could use his control belt not only to shrink in size, but also to increase his weight and mass.

At the same moment, a white light suddenly winked directly above the Mighty Mite, announcing a zeta-beam transport. Robin materialized in the middle of a somersault, striking out at the Atom with his escrima sticks as he passed overhead. Twisting in midair, the Boy Wonder followed through with two powerful kicks—abdomen and left temple. As the Tiny Titan went down, Superboy quickly sprayed him with the antidote. Simultaneously, Robin locked a meta-negation collar around the Atom's neck. The teens removed the size-control belt and, to be on the safe side, zip-tied his wrists and ankles.

The boys nodded at each other: one down, several more to go. A noise, inaudible to human ears, caught Superboy's attention. Turning back to where they had left the alien sample, he watched as it began to react to the gas that had wafted toward it from the pellets that the Atom had knocked to the floor. As the gas slowly shrouded it, the creature-like nanotech began to shake violently, and tiny flecks began to dislodge from the main body.

"Oh, you are _not_ doing that!" Robin muttered. "Superboy! Quick, open the freezer unit!" Superboy did not hesitate. He hurried to do as told, while Robin ran toward the sample. As soon as Superboy had the freezer open, Robin shoved the quivering, unrecognizable mass into it, and followed it with yet another gas pellet. "Did you see that thing?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. His voice had gone up at least an octave in his excitement and disgust.

Superboy shrugged. After what he'd witnessed in Cadmus, the reaction of the alien sample did not faze him. "I've seen worse. Come on, before we fall behind schedule."

Not waiting for an answer, Superboy stalked off. Robin stood back, momentarily caught off guard. Realizing that Superboy was heading toward the elevators, he called after the Kryptonian clone in a low voice. "Hey, Supes, wait up!" He scowled as Superboy kept going and, shaking his head, said in a slightly louder voice, "Superboy, you may as well stop, since you're headed the wrong way!

To Robin's relief, Superboy stopped and, without further comment, headed back toward him. "This way," Robin urged. He led them down another corridor to a door near the far end. The door had a warning sign: Danger! Air Lock! Emergency Exit Only!

Superboy looked disbelievingly, first at the sign, and then at Robin. _He's gotta be kidding_, Superboy protested silently. _No way are we going out that way._

Thankfully, his worry proved unfounded. Robin turned right, and Superboy suddenly spotted the recessed bulkhead with the oblong hatch that he had missed earlier. The hatch had the legend MT-V1, and opened to reveal a ladder that went straight up, disappearing into the shadows above. Superboy raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"It's a maintenance access tube—Maintenance Tube-Vertical 1, to be exact. There are eight of them running through the Watchtower: four vertical and four horizontal. This is the main vertical tube. It runs from this—the lowest level—to the highest. From here, we have access to all the levels. Plus, it intersects with each of the horizontal tubes."

"How many levels are there?" Superboy asked.

"Ninety-six. That's almost as many as Wayne Tower in Gotham."

Superboy nodded, unfazed by the number of levels they were about to climb.

"Anyway," Robin continued, "the maintenance tubes are a way to get from one end of the satellite to the other."

"And why aren't we using the _nth_-belts again?" Superboy grumbled.

"Because we can't push our luck with unauthorized use of beaming technology in the Watchtower. We run the risk of being detected too soon. Hopefully, we'll be able to get around without being discovered."

"Hopefully," Superboy grunted.

"I didn't say it was a perfect plan," Robin said with a shrug.

Superboy rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/0930 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Vandal Savage gazed down at the blue and white planet spinning obliviously on its axis. He grinned in self-satisfaction. _My domain… my realm. Soon, with the Justice League under my control, all the world's heroes will follow suit. I shall, at last, be able to bring my final plan to fruition, accelerating Man's natural evolution—_

"Oh, no!" a familiar voice cried out, interrupting Savage's musings.

"What is it?" Savage demanded in annoyance.

"I've lost several of my toys," Klarion the Witch Boy whined.

"Explain."

Klarion pouted at the immortal's impatient, no-nonsense tone. "Just what I said." The witch boy waved carelessly with his free hand, and a hologram appeared before him. With his other hand, he gently held his cat familiar, Teekl, who was lazily cleaning his paws. The hologram looked computer-generated, but Savage knew that it had been magically produced. "I was just about to run a routine check of the heroes' locations, when I noticed that several have fallen off the grid."

As Savage watched, Klarion backed the hologram up a few hours to earlier that morning. At that time, three separate teams had been deployed to investigate reported sightings of the Junior League. The teams had yet to report back.

"What do you mean you were just running a routine check?" Savage demanded. "We dispatched eight heroes to three different trouble spots over four hours ago. Haven't you been monitoring their actions?"

Klarion glared at the immortal, and then grinned impishly. "I think you have me mixed up with one of your own minions, Savage. A Lord of Chaos answers to no one but himself." His grin turned malevolent. "I would advise you to remember that."

"Don't be foolish, boy!" Savage snapped. "For the Light to succeed, we must _all_ play our parts—" The next instant, Savage found himself trussed up and hanging upside-down in the middle of the control room. "You little fool! Let me down this instant or I swear I'll—" Enraged, Savage realized that he was unexpectedly mumbling into a gag that was preventing his speaking.

"You'll what? Threaten a Lord of Chaos with empty words? Don't make me laugh. The only reasons I've joined your incompetent little band of pirates are because your current goals coincide with mine… _and_ to watch the fun, as you bring down the mighty Justice League." Klarion floated up until he was at eye-level with Savage. "Don't think for even a second that I would ever allow you to be the boss of me." As he spoke, the witch boy's face took on a demonic appearance, his eyes burning a hellish red, and a pair of innocuous curls taking on a decidedly horned appearance. "And don't ever call me _foolish_ again, or you will face _this_ for all eternity—"

Klarion again waved his hand in an offhand gesture, and Savage was suddenly amid the burning fires of hell. He choked on the sulfuric fumes that permeated the superheated cavern in which he found himself. Everything he touched burned. He screamed as the very clothing on his back blackened in the eternal hellfires. The high-pitched giggles of his tormentor barely broke through the roaring in his ears.

The next instant, Savage was spread-eagled in the hot desert sun, tied to four stakes. He briefly felt a strange, ticklish sensation along his torso before it turned into the torture of one hundred thousand fiery brands being seared into his skin. Savage turned his head and spotted his tormentors marching relentlessly up his arms. He lifted his head enough to look at his own chest to try to make sense of what was happening. After a moment, he realized that his entire body was covered in an undulating blanket of red ants. He screamed in agony and fought uselessly against his restraints, as the red-hot insect bites burned into his unprotected flesh with the intense heat of a branding iron.

When it felt as if he had reached his breaking point, that the relentless pain would last for eternity, and that his larynx would fail before his agony stopped, the pain ceased. Savage quickly sucked in short, gasping breaths of relief. Surely, the witch boy did not mean to kill him. He was an immortal, after all.

As these thoughts and others slowly seeped through Savage's brain, the witch boy knelt down next to him. He bent over until he could whisper directly into his hapless victim's right ear.

"Do you know why immortality is highly overrated?" Klarion's hot breath along his ear sent shivers of fear shooting through Savage. "Because its greatest gift is also its greatest curse: One can never be granted the eternal peace that comes with death."

To prove his point, Klarion again set the red ants upon his helplessly-bound associate. As Savage again cried out at the nonstop pain, Klarion lifted and then dropped his forefinger, ending the ordeal. The desert scene disappeared. They were back on the Watchtower, steadily orbiting the earth below. Savage remained kneeling on the floor of the Watchtower control room, head bowed as he gathered his resolve to stand.

"By the way," Klarion said offhandedly, "you should also know that another hero, the Atom, has gone off the grid. But before he disappeared, he had been here on the satellite the entire time. That means that—"

"That means that the accursed Junior League is on the Watchtower. Find them. Find them all!" Savage bit out, rising to his full height. "And bring the _Six_ back immediately!"

Klarion again assumed his position above and to the left of the monitor womb in the JL Watchtower. From here, he would have the best vantage point to watch the fun as it unfolded. Hopefully, the Young Justice team would show up and offer some kind of worthy challenge.

To add to the increased tension in the control room, the young Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers and then pointed at a vague spot above and to his left. Grinning, he watched as a boom tube materialized out of nowhere. Before long, six figures appeared and dispersed quickly, per his instructions, the boom tube dematerializing behind them. The puppet master then sat back, ready to enjoy the chaos that was about to ensue.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/0930 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin and Superboy steadily climbed up the vertical maintenance tube. They had already climbed almost halfway up the satellite and were approaching Level 50. Robin stopped when they reached yet another oblong hatch with the legend MT-HL50: Maintenance Tube-Horizontal Level 50. On the bulkhead next to the hatch was a 10x20-inch rectangular outline. On each corner, Robin spotted a small Phillips screw. He quickly produced a battery-powered, multi-use tool from his utility belt and removed the screws in seconds. Next, he pulled a micro-USB cable from his glove computer and plugged it into a slot in the center of the rectangle.

His fingers flew across the holographic keyboard projected from his glove. Within seconds, the computer went through several hundred permutations of code, finally stopping at one. Robin read the flashing coded message and smiled. He hit _enter_ on his keyboard. In the next instant, he heard a distinctive _~click~_ announcing that the secured junction box had just been unlocked.

The rectangular outline proved to be a small, hinged door that opened easily, once the screws were removed and the digital lock was decrypted.

"Bingo," Robin whispered. He jacked the micro-USB cable in earlier into the waiting slot inside the junction box. "The League makes this too easy. I'm gonna have a serious talk with B about this complete lapse in security."

"What's taking so long?" Superboy demanded. "What are you doing?"

"Hacking into the JL satellite security system." Robin spoke distractedly, concentrating on the holographic display suddenly before him. An unbroken string of data scrolled by at incredible speeds. He allowed most to pass undisturbed, until he spotted a familiar set of alphanumeric equations. "Yes! I'm in!"

The next few minutes went by too quickly for Robin, but too slowly for Superboy. At last, a sigh of relief escaped Robin's lips. "Done!" he proclaimed. "I hacked the security system. They won't be able find us through conventional means. We're going to be little more than ghosts in the machine." He grinned down at Superboy, who was still waiting somewhat impatiently a few ladder rungs below him. If he had been expecting an awed response from the Boy of Steel, then Robin was sorely disappointed. Shaking his head in a combination of mild amusement and annoyance, Robin opened the hatch leading into the horizontal tube. "Let's go," he muttered.

They entered the horizontal maintenance shaft and made their way hurriedly to where it intersected with the starboard-side vertical shaft. Arriving at the next junction box, Robin again jacked in. Hacking into the communications network, he was able to then track each of the remaining JL members through their earpieces. In addition, he found the zeta transporter records of the "guests" that Batman had signed onboard the previous day: Vandal Savage, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Klarion, and the Brain. He also found evidence that Ra's al Ghul and Ocean Master had both signed on, only to leave shortly thereafter. Luthor, Queen Bee, and Brain had remained for another few hours, before they too left.

He rechecked his readings. It looked like Batman had left with Ra's al Ghul yesterday at noon and returned alone four hours later. At 6:00 p.m., he left again with five other Leaguers and had yet to return. As Robin was checking the security feeds, there was a sudden spike of strange energy readings that lasted 15 seconds before disappearing again. In its place, several additional Leaguers suddenly appeared on the electronic tracker: Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawk Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern John Stewart, and Batman.

"Oh, crap," he whispered. He checked the time. It was 10:00 a.m.

"What is it?" Superboy hissed.

"Things just got a lot harder," Robin answered. "But it's nothing we can't handle. I hope."

"Are you done yet?" Superboy demanded. Of course, Robin ignored him. After all, it was obvious that he was still working, so the question was pointless. At last Robin shut down his glove computer and sat back on his heels.

"Let's go. We need to get in position for the others."

"So, what exactly _did _you do?" Superboy asked curiously.

"I hacked the zeta transporter tubes... and life support." Robin gave the Boy of Steel a smug look.

As the teens spoke, they ran toward the rendezvous point. Superboy opened the hatch leading to the main corridor of Level 50. The corridor opened to a reception room that was currently unoccupied. Working quickly, Superboy and Robin removed their belts, and made some delicate adjustments to them. The next instant, Robin's communicator activated.

"Robin, is everything in a state of readiness?" Aqualad's voice sounded tinny.

"The zeta-booth in Gotham City is now connected to our _n_th-belts, bypassing the Watchtower transporter tubes," Robin replied. "We're ready to receive on this end."

The next instant, the belts, which were lying in the middle of the floor, activated in a brilliant white light. When the light dissipated, Aqualad and Rocket stood there. Their expressions grim, they took a step back and proceeded to transport the rest of the Team onto the Watchtower.

**End of Part 8**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been sticking with the story so far and reviewing. I really do appreciate the encouragement. Also, a special thanks to Ellen—beta-reader extraordinaire!

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: December 2012


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary:** The Team takes back the Watchtower.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1030 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Within an hour, history was repeating itself.

Batman threw Robin bodily, sending the Boy Wonder careening across the Watchtower's park-like solarium. He came to a jarring stop when he slammed against the viewing window. A product of alien hybrid technology, comprised of transparent Kryptonian/Thanagarian/Martian composite materials, the window's practically indestructible components made it the immovable object to Robin's irresistible force. Therefore, when he crashed against it, he crumpled onto the solarium floor, momentarily stunned.

"I've seen this movie already," he groaned. "Time to change the channel." Seeing the approaching bat-like shadow getting inexorably nearer, Robin managed to regain his feet and resumed a defensive stance. Ignoring the slight wobble on his left side as he stood, he took out his specially designed escrima sticks. He hadn't had a chance to test them thoroughly yet, so it appeared they were about to get a trial by combat.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1030 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

With the full Young Justice team on hand, it was only a matter of time before the League began to fall one by one. Klarion the Witch Boy took an impish delight in reporting the steady fall of Savage's soldiers. As a Lord of Chaos he could have told Savage that sometimes the Laws of Order would prevail despite the odds. Because the children were fighting, not against their usual gallery of rogues, but rather against the most important people in their lives, it was practically a foregone conclusion that they would win the day.

Klarion had witnessed this level of single-mindedness throughout human history. Unfortunately, for him and all those whose powers came from following the Laws of Chaos, the results were rarely pretty—from the wimpy middle school student standing up to a bully, to an oppressed people overthrowing a despotic government—_right_ often won over _might_.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1040 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin feinted. As Batman fell for the ruse, his protégé went into a double layout with a twist. He pressed the control switch on his _n_th-belt and winked out just as Batman went on the offensive with a roundhouse kick. Dick reappeared as he was directly over the Dark Knight. Activating the electric charges on the ends of his escrima sticks, he struck out at both sides of his mentor's head with rapid, debilitating blows.

Falling to his knees, Batman roared at the unexpected pain. Robin felt something inside him clench at the sight of his mentor/partner/father rendered almost helpless by his actions. But it was only because he had been watching so closely that he executed a double twist in time to dodge the batarang just as Batman threw it. This wasn't working. It was time for Plan B.

"Superboy!"

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1050 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Klarion sighed as he watched more of the infected Leaguers disappear from his monitor and fell from his control. Shrugging philosophically he said, "Oh, well…you win some, you lose some." He stroked Teekl and sat back, waiting for the inevitable outcome. "At this rate, the junior league will be in the control room and take back the Watchtower in less than an hour." He spoke gleefully as he made this observation, knowing how much it would annoy Vandal Savage, the Light's so-called leader. As if a Lord of Chaos could ever serve under such a dimwit.

Savage glared at him, fully understanding the witch boy's enjoyment of the setback. "It's time to leave," he said. "The children have won the day."

"Want me to smite them? Show them the true meaning of chaos?" Klarion asked, eager to cause some real destruction.

"No! You'll only get carried away and bring down the whole satellite. And we need the Justice League for the next phase."

"No, I wouldn't!" Klarion looked insulted. "I've _so _got total control!" Teekl meowed and rubbed his head gently against his master's chest. Klarion looked down at him and smiled fondly. "Oh, all right," he admitted, grinning wickedly. "I would so totally lose control and bring down the Chaos, destroying the whole place in the process." He shrugged. "Oh, well."

The witch boy flicked his hand casually and conjured a boom tube. He politely waved Savage to precede him into the tube; with a final backward glance, Klarion stepped in after him. The tube winked out, leaving no evidence of its ever having been there.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1050 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin fought a delaying action against Batman, giving Superboy time to get to him. From a distance, the Dynamic Duo appeared to be involved in a complicated game of keep away. Batman would advance cautiously and then launch a vicious attack, while Robin would stand his ground until the last possible second and then avoid any debilitating contact by executing yet another Olympic level gymnastics move. However, he was only human and couldn't keep it up all day.

"SB…ready any time you are." Robin spoke calmly, but the underlying tension was obvious.

"Sorry. Big Blue just sent me through the floor." Superboy sounded a little dazed.

"What's your location?"

"One level below you.

"Got it. I'm coming to you." This time when Batman attacked, Robin met him almost head on. He quickly feinted, ducked under the inevitable counterblow, and struck his much more experienced opponent behind the knees with a savage kick, holding nothing back. Batman grunted in pain as he went down. Meanwhile, Robin took off in the direction of the giant hole in the floor. Just as he was about to dive in, he was struck from behind. Instead of a controlled dive, Robin tumbled in head over heels.

At the last second, however, he regained a semblance of control and twisted his body sufficiently that he landed safely, next to Superboy. He gave the Boy of Steel an ironic look. "Sorry…having a tough day at the office."

"What?"

"Never mind." Robin spoke quickly as a dark shadow descended upon them. "Time for Plan B." Nodding, Superboy grabbed him by the wrists, and spun him 360 degrees. As soon as Batman landed, Superboy released Robin. The Boy Wonder went flying feet-first straight toward Batman and rammed into him with the force of a Mack truck. The momentum was enough to shove the Caped Crusaders several feet until they both crashed into the interior bulkhead. Batman took the brunt of the collision and soundlessly fell unconscious.

Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out one of the two remaining mini-aerosol bottles and sprayed Batman with the antidote. Discarding the small vial, he immediately ran to where Superboy was valiantly holding Superman in a headlock. If it weren't for the fact that the Man of Steel's free will was subjugated and thus his fighting prowess compromised, Superboy would never have been able to hold him for as long as he had.

Running toward them, Robin pulled out a small lead-lined box from a special compartment in his utility belt. Armed with the box and aerosol bottle, Robin felt ready to face the Last Son of Krypton. Gazing intently at Superboy, Robin gave him one more chance to back out.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Just do it!" Superboy grunted due to the effort he was expending just holding onto the Man of Steel. Not needing to be told twice, Robin opened the box and revealed its contents—a glowing green rock, deadly to the two Kryptonians. Fortunately, Superman took the brunt of the radiation while his invulnerable body acted as a shield that somewhat protected Superboy. He gave a weak groan as he slowly collapsed.

Not wasting any time, Robin sprayed Superman with the antidote. Then, just to be on the safe side, he locked a meta-powers negation necklace around his neck. It was only then that he realized that Superboy had also succumbed to the Kryptonite and was lying unconscious underneath Superman. Sighing, Robin grabbed him by the arms and heaved. He struggled for a few moments before he was finally able to pull the Boy of Steel out from under his "father."

Satisfied that Superman was not going to suddenly wake up and attack again, the Boy Wonder made his way over to where his mentor was lying in a heap against the bulkhead. He gently straightened Batman so that he was lying supine, and hopefully, more comfortably. Then, feeling tired from day's grueling activities, Robin leaned against the bulkhead and slowly slid down to a sitting position on the floor next to his mentor. He reached over and pulled Batman's head onto his lap.

"Don't worry, B. It's okay to sleep. I've got your back…"

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1300 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

As soon as they had Watchtower secured, they contacted Alfred and began the process of transporting unconscious Leaguers from Robin's Lair to the Watchtower infirmary. Following each encounter against the Justice League, the Team had taken their unconscious mentors to the Lair for recovery, hopefully in a secure location that was capable of holding them. The first three groups had been given the antidote at approximately 05:30 EDT. Although several hours had already passed, none had regained consciousness, which was a growing cause of concern.

The Team contacted Dr. Pieter Cross, also known as the hero, Dr. Mid-Nite, physician to the Justice League. A doctor first and hero second, Dr. Mid-Nite was a JL reserve member and rarely deployed on League missions. His primary task was to ensure that the Watchtower infirmary was run efficiently and that heroes who were injured in the line of duty received the finest medical care available.

He had personally trained several Leaguers in emergency first aid and had selected a handful for further training, certifying them as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), capable of serving in any emergency room in the world. Unfortunately, most of his handpicked EMTs were lying unconscious in the infirmary.

The infirmary beds were comprised of the most advanced medical technology available—human, Atlantean, Amazonian, and alien. Each bed was coded to its patient's needs, able to take reading of their vitals. Directly above the bed, and linked to the physician's station, was a continuously updated monitor that detailed the patient's vitals. In addition, the bed enveloped the patient in a protective, healing aura that helped speed up the body's natural healing process.

Dr. Mid-Nite requested that Aqualad contact Atlantis to consult with the scientists that had developed the serum. He stood by somewhat impatiently as Aqualad spoke with Queen Mera and both the royal physician and royal scientist/mage, exchanging in exceedingly polite greetings per protocol. After the preliminary small talk was out of the way, Aqualad finally got down to business.

From what the royal scientist/mage was saying, Dr. Mid-Nite surmised that because of the urgency to develop a serum that would counteract the mind-controlling nanotech, the Atlanteans had not had sufficient time to completely study all possible side effects. The nanotech had worked on aliens, humans, and even Red Tornado, a robot; therefore, the antidote had to be somewhat invasive and radical—much like chemotherapy attacking cancer cells.

"Aqualad…how fares my husband and my king?" Queen Mera asked. Although, she kept her outward features impassive, the queen could not quite mask her deep concern for her beloved husband.

"King Arthur has not awakened yet, my Queen." Aqualad bowed his head slightly in contrition. "Indeed, none of our mentors has regained consciousness. We are becoming worried."

"If I may speak?" the royal scientist/mage asked politely. At his queen's nod, he continued. "The serum has some magical elements to it, which were needed to counteract the mystical properties we discovered hidden within the nanotech." He shrugged. "Perhaps that is what is affecting the recipients as they are non-magical?"

"Perhaps," Aqualad conceded, "however, that would not explain Dr. Fate. He is a Lord of Order, and yet, he too has yet to regain consciousness."

"Are the patients in any kind of stress?" the royal physician asked.

Aqualad stepped aside to allow Dr. Mid-Nite to answer. The hero physician quickly introduced himself before answering the question. "As far as we can determine from the readings we are currently getting, the patients are not in any type of stress. We are concerned only because this mind-control nanotech and its antidote are both completely new. As of now, I can only keep the patients comfortable and continue monitoring them. I am currently running tests on their blood cells to see how they are transforming."

"May I suggest that you send us your findings, Doctor?" the royal scientist/mage asked. "Perhaps we can be of help from this end."

"In the meantime, I recommend that you continue with what you are currently doing to keep your patients comfortable," the royal physician said kindly. "Perhaps all the body needs is further rest, and each being—including our beloved king—will regain consciousness in his or her own good time?"

Dr. Mid-Nite and Aqualad nodded in acknowledgement. "Perhaps you are correct," Dr. Mid-Nite said.

Aqualad stepped forward. He brought his closed fist up to his chest and bowed formally. "My Queen, thank you for giving us an audience. I shall keep you apprised of the king's condition, of course."

"Thank you, Kaldur. Fair seas and deep oceans to thee, Kaldur'ahn," Queen Mera said formally as she signed off.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/1800 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Much to everyone's relief, soon after Aqualad and Dr. Mid-Nite spoke with Atlantis, the first of the heroes began showing signs of waking—Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Soon after, he was joined by Green Arrow, Red Arrow, and Black Canary. As the afternoon passed, more Leaguers awakened. They all complained of blinding headaches, nausea, and a general achiness. Thankfully, these symptoms were all easily treated with more bed rest, and in a few cases, frequent assisted trips to the bathroom, or in the case of extreme emergency, a handy basin kept near the patient.

If it were not for the fact that the adult heroes were so sick and miserable, the teens would have thought of their plight as nothing less than hilarious. However, the afternoon's hard work had only just started. The teens found themselves being run ragged in cleaning up some rather disgusting accidents that resulted from an extremely weakened hero throwing up before anyone could get him a basin. In one case, even Kid Flash's super-speed was not enough to save him from being spewed on by Plastic Man. Who knew the shape-shifter even had a stomach capable of digesting real food?

As the hours passed, the world's greatest heroes' discomfort slowly passed and soon they were mostly resting comfortably. Several mentors and partners had already had a heart-to-heart, the juniors' relief evident in the often laughter-laced, quiet conversations occurring around the infirmary. A few were also tearful as the younger heroes finally gave voice to the deep concerns that had plagued them for the past 48 hours.

Even Superman and Superboy talked. The conversation had been a bit uncomfortable at first, but soon the Man of Steel warmed to his young clone—"_A real boy, Pinocchio"_—as he finally admitted to himself that the teen had been created through no fault of his own. Superboy—Conner Kent, Superman discovered to his delight—was a boy who had never felt a mother's touch or known a father's pride. While Clark Kent could do nothing about the former, he could certainly do his best to rectify the latter. He could also give him something better—the unconditional love of two of the world's finest grandparents.

"Tell me, Conner," Clark said with a smile, "do you like apple pie?"

Conner shrugged. "I don't think I've ever had any." He did not count M'Gann's burnt offerings, for he rarely knew what the charred horrors were that she frequently removed from the oven.

Clark's eyes widened at this unexpected and unacceptable news. "Well…as soon I'm up and around, you and I are going to fix that." At Conner's confused expression, Clark explained. "I'm going to introduce you to the world's greatest cook—"

"I thought that was Alfred?" Conner replied, with a quick glance toward the curtained off bed in the far corner where the unmasked Bats were hidden from prying eyes. Although Dick had revealed his secret identity to the Team, there were still members of the League who were not privy to the information.

"That is only a false rumor perpetuated by Batman," Clark said with an amused glance in the same direction. "Even Alfred bows to the superior culinary talents of Martha Kent."

Conner's eyes widened. "Martha Kent? Is that your wife?"

Unable to help himself, Clark guffawed and shook his head. "She's my _ma_, and now, your _grandma_."

"I…I have a grandma?"

"And a grandpa," Clark said with a nod. At Conner's bright smile, so filled with happiness it almost outshone the sun, Clark felt a momentary pang of guilt for having kept this boy from his family. He knew it was nothing compared to how Ma and Pa would make him feel once they found out that he had withheld knowledge of their grandson from them.

Clark had a lot of making up to do, and now was as good a time as any to start. Returning the boy's smile, Clark began regaling him with tales of growing up in Smallville, Kansas…

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 2/2300 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin sat in the infirmary, watching over the still-unconscious Batman. His mentor was the last of the Justice League to remain unconscious. He had been this way for twelve hours now. Robin had been by his side for the greater part of the afternoon, helping care for the other heroes off and on until being excused by Dr. Mid-Nite. Since then, he had been here, refusing to leave Batman's bedside.

Even Alfred had been unable to entice him away with promises of chocolate chip cookies and an Alfred-special mug of homemade hot chocolate topped with whip cream and peppermint sprinkles. Alfred and Dr. Leslie Thompkins had transported to the Watchtower specifically to care for the Dark Knight. They were family, after all, and Dr. Mid-Nite welcomed Dr. Thompkins' help.

Now, it was late and Robin began nodding off. He had been operating on less than four hours sleep, and after the past two days' exertions, he was feeling very much like a 13-year-old boy and much less like a super-hero. His eyelids growing heavy, he finally gave into the inevitable and crawled in bed next to Batman. When he was only eight and suffering from regular nightmares, he had often sought solace with his guardian, climbing into his massive bed next to him only to be discovered the following morning.

Snuggling against his mentor, Robin removed his mask and laid his head down on Bruce's shoulder. Within minutes, Dick was fast asleep…

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 3/1000 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

The increased beeping from the heart monitor seeped its way into his consciousness. The next thing he was aware of was the feeling of warmth and comfort that he had not felt in a very long time. As he blinked his eyes open against the sunlight that streamed in from the infirmary's viewing window, Dick realized that he was currently being held comfortably in the crook of his mentor's arm. His head was still on Bruce's shoulder. Raising his head, he peered up into his mentor's amused eyes.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Bruce said. His dark hair was comically tousled, and his unshaven face would have given him a rakish look if not for the dark circles under his eyes. The events of the past two days had left him looking haggard and beaten. Dick sat up slowly, not wanting to leave the protection of his guardian's arm. For just a few minutes, he allowed himself the right to be just a boy.

"Hi…how do you feel?" Dick asked. "Nauseous? Headachy?"

"Not too bad…Doc Mid-Nite and Leslie were here awhile ago. They gave me something to fight off the nausea and an analgesic for the headache."

"How long ago?" Dick asked, embarrassed that someone else had seen him sleeping in Bruce's arms. He sat up, pulling his knees up to his chin.

Bruce shrugged, indifferently. "Doesn't matter." He turned his intense gaze on his boy. "And what of you? How do _you_ feel?"

"Me? I'm fine," Dick said, unable to meet Bruce's eyes. He didn't think he had ever felt more _un_-fine in his entire life, even after the time Two-Face had beaten him within an inch of his life. "You know…really feeling the 'aster."

"I'm sorry, buddy…for everything." As Bruce spoke he gently ran his hand up and down Dick's arm.

His guardian's words and gentle ministrations triggered the release of every emotion Dick had been suppressing for the past 48 hours. Unable to help himself, the teen broke down, his tears falling uncontrollably, his lithe body wracked violently by harsh sobs. He practically fell on top of Bruce again, seeking the solace that only his father could give. He cried unashamedly for several minutes, held gently in Bruce's arms.

"It wasn't your fault, Bruce…" he sobbed. "I know you couldn't help yourself. I'm sorry, I got so scared."

"Don't apologize, Dicky. I'm the one who should've been protecting _you._" Bruce spoke in low, angry raspy voice, the Bat superimposing his anger at his alter ego for failing to protect his son and partner. "Instead, I—"

"—Instead, you trained me so that I could protect us both." Dick spoke quietly, swallowing another sob that threatened to escape. "I got scared at first because I didn't think I was strong enough to save us…to save you." His voice hitched slightly, cracking under the strain. "But I couldn't let myself be afraid 'cause I knew you and the others were depending on me…and the rest of the Team." He sat up and smiled proudly at his mentor. "You didn't just train me, Bruce…you trained us all. Because of you…we saved the day."

Bruce looked up at the boy he had raised and trained for the past four years—the boy he had first made his ward, then his partner, and now his son. His chest swelling with pride, Bruce raised his hand and ran it up down the boy's cheek, feeling truly happy for a fleeting moment at least. This young boy, who was quickly developing into a fine young man, had helped him move past his own pain and inner darkness, and in the process, had shown him the way back to the light of day.

"Yes, you sure did," Bruce said with a slight half-smile. "You and the Team definitely saved the day. I'm very proud of you, Dick. I don't think that I—or even the Justice League—could've done better."

Dick's smile mirrored that of his mentor's. Briefly, father and son enjoyed a quiet respite from their mutual duties.

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**The Watchtower**

**Day 3/1300 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

After the midday meal, Batman and Robin made their way to the Watchtower conference room. Batman appeared none the worse for wear, which was a complete lie, Robin knew. The Boy Wonder kept a close eye on his partner in case he began to tire, and rather than do the intelligent thing and return to his quarters, chose instead to continue wearing himself out. Batman knew that was why Robin was at his side and glared at him as reminder of who was in charge. Taking a lesson from Alfred's _Book of How to Handle a Bat_, Robin chose to ignore him.

The Justice League's seven founding members and one additional member were already present as the Dynamic Duo walked in. Batman's cape swirled dramatically behind him as he crossed over to take his seat to the right of Superman, while Robin remained standing directly behind him and to his right. Also seated were Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Hawk Woman, and the Martian Manhunter.

Batman pressed a button on the table in front of him, which activated a virtual computer station. Standing up, he nodded at his junior partner. "Robin."

Robin immediately sat in Batman's seat and took over the computer station. "I accessed the Watchtower's security files while Superboy and I conducted a recon mission," he explained. "To make a long story short, I discovered that five of the founding members—Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Hawk Woman, Martian Manhunter—and GL John Stewart were sent to an undisclosed location via boom tube on or about 1800 EDT of the first day and returned sixteen hours later...1000 EDT of the second day. There is no record—digital, video, or audio—that explains where you six were sent."

"Or what we did." Batman's low, raspy voice sounded almost loud in the sudden, stunned silence.

"Great Hera! We could have been sent anywhere on Earth—" Wonder Woman said, shocked.

"We went by boom tube! Never mind Earth! We could have been sent anywhere in the galaxy!" added Hawk Woman.

"And done anything while under mind control," Green Lantern John Stewart grimly reminded them.

"With our combined powers and abilities," Superman said, reeling from the information, "the amount of destruction that we are capable of is staggering." He turned to Batman. "We need to follow up on this and trace our steps. If only for our own peace of mind, we must find out where we went and what we did."

"Agreed," Wonder Woman seconded. "Now, on the second order of business…J'onn, did you and M'Gann take care of Roy?"

"My niece and I were able to break through the mind blocks that had been imposed on him. Roy was apparently kidnapped shortly after becoming partners with Green Arrow. If you remember, three months after his debut as Speedy, he went missing for about two weeks." At the others' nods of confirmation, he continued. "Afterward, Speedy had no memory of his ordeal. He was given a clean bill of health and returned to his work with Green Arrow."

"Apparently, while he was gone, Roy was subjected to a series of hypnosis sessions with Psimon. The powerful psychic placed a mental trigger in Roy's subconscious, making him the mole that we've suspected having for some time. They also gave him a post hypnotic suggestion to join the League. This manifested in his driving himself until he was League worthy. This is also why he was so angry on the Fourth of July when he was initially told that he wasn't being inducted that day."

"And why he refused to join Young Justice," the Flash interjected. "He was driven to join the League, and when he was finally inducted, his post-hypnotic command to turn us all into Vandal Savage's mindless puppets kicked in."

"So, again…what do we do about it?" Hawk Woman broke in. "Red Arrow was officially inducted into the League. Does he stay in or do we drum him out?"

"Why should we _drum him out_, as you say?" Superman asked. "J'onn just told us that he and his niece took care of the mental triggers. Roy's clean, so to speak."

"I agree," Batman said. "Like the rest of us while under the Light's mind control, Roy was not responsible for his actions. And like the rest of us, he's probably feeling enough guilt for his actions. I think the boy has been punished enough."

"I agree with Bats," the Flash said. "If that were Wally, I know that the last thing I'd want is to see him punished for something that wasn't his fault. Roy needs his family right now—and that includes all of us. Because if there's one thing that's an absolute fact it's that the Justice League and Young Justice are all family."

"And family takes care of its own," added GL Hal Jordan. "And speaking of family, the Jordans have a New Year's Eve get together tradition at my parents. Lots of siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews that I don't get to see as often as I wish will be there." With his words, Jordan stood to excuse himself.

"And it doesn't hurt that Carol promised to be there, eh, Hal?" Stewart asked slyly. Grinning broadly, Jordan simply waved and walked out. He was soon followed by the rest of the Leaguers, leaving only Superman and the Bats behind.

"I understand that you and Superboy had a _talk_," Batman said. At Superman's nod, the Dark Knight gave him a slight half-smile. Turning to look at Robin, he gently ran his gloved hand through the boy's hair. "I'm glad."

Superman rewarded him with a bright smile. "So am I." With a nod at the two Bats, he also got up and left. He had two grandparents anxiously waiting to meet their grandson.

Once they were alone, Batman gave his young partner a knowing look. "What haven't you told me?"

Robin sighed. He knew better than to keep a secret from the World's Greatest Detective. "I was waiting for the right time to tell you. Batman, you weren't gone for only these missing sixteen hours. Six hours before you and the others were transported to who knows where, you left the satellite accompanied by Ra's al Ghul. Again, because you were transported by boom tube, I don't have a destination. But this time, you were gone for four hours. You were returned at 1600 EDT, only to be transported out again with the others at 1800 EDT."

"Ra's al Ghul…" Batman growled. "If I left with him then it's highly probably that I was taken to one of his satraps."

"That's true. And we know the locations of several of his hideouts already, so—"

"So, we can run a check on any energy spikes that match boom tube activity around the world for the time frame that I was transported out and returned."

"Way ahead of you," Robin said excitedly already running a check that matched the energy signature that he had spotted while he was reconning the satellite. "And here it is!" he cried out in triumph. "At approximately 1200 EDT, there was boom tube activity somewhere in the middle of the Bialyan desert…Close to an hour later at 1251 EDT another energy spike registered in the same location, and…a matching spike was recorded in southern Asia inside the Himalayan range." Robin kept working for further information, finally locating the last of the energy spikes. "At 1359 EDT an energy spike appeared in the same location, which was followed by the matching spike here in the Watchtower."

Batman nodded. "If those energy spikes correspond with my being taken from the satellite, then for some reason I was transported to one of Ra's satraps in the desert, only be taken to his headquarters in the Himalayas."

"The question is why?" Robin looked confused. "Why would he take you to those places only to return you, and then send you away again?"

"That, Robin, is the million dollar question." Sighing, Batman laid his hand on his partner's shoulder. "It doesn't appear that we're going to answer it today. It's been a long week, Robin. Let's head home."

**End of Part 9**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who signed on for story alert or favored the story, and, of course, thanks to everyone for reviewing. You basically got me kick-started into finishing it. Thanks. Next…the Epilogue!

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: January 2013


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary:** The epilogue…

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Alpha-Omega Protocol**

**By Syl Francis**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Ra's al Ghul Satrap**

**Underground Bunker**

**Southern Asia: Himalayan Foothills**

**Six months later/0100 EDT**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

Robin hacked the security system in record time. The Team was a year old now and had grown in size. They now had more metas—Bumblebee and Beast Boy had joined the team in mid-March—and Robin was officially Aqualad's second-in-command, as well as, the Team's acknowledged strategist and electronics whiz.

"_Okay, I'm in,"_ he reported. Aqualad and M'Gann were waiting in the bioship, while Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, and Artemis had infiltrated the Demon's no-longer-secret underground facility. Accompanying them on her first mission was Bumblebee, a meta whose powers were geared toward infil missions. Shrinking down to her tiny, insect size she was buzzing around impatiently as her more experienced teammates waited for Robin's electronic sleuthing.

Robin studied the readings coming over his glove computer virtual monitor. "_According to security plans, the facility has several additional floors running further down. Whoa…here's something unexpected—"_

When no further words were forthcoming, Kid Flash broke in impatiently. _"What? What's unexpected? Spill, Rob!"_

Bumblebee felt a little mollified at Kid Flash's request because she was ready to go crazy with all the waiting. She jumped the next minute when she came across a pair of almond shaped eyes that were looking at her in amusement.

"_Take it easy, Karen…It always goes like this. Robby gets lost in the computer code and Kid Idiot annoys him into staying grounded in reality. It's a mystery, but it works somehow."_

"_Hey, I heard that!" _ Kid Flash shot back, sounding amused.

"_Okay…it looks like we're in the clear,"_ Robin said. _"The place is abandoned. I've run a full security check. The place is in lockdown, but there's no one home."_

"_What do you make of it?"_ Aqualad asked. _"According to Batman's source, Ra's al Ghul has been developing a dangerous weapon for the past few months here."_

Robin saw no need to tell them that the _source_ they were referring to was Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the Demon's Head. Personally, he could not trust her as far he could throw her, but Batman had been sure that at least some of her information would prove useful. Therefore, he had deployed the Team for a reconnaissance mission to find out what weapon her father was developing.

"_According to the security files, if there is a weapon being developed here, then we'll probably find it in the lowest sublevel. It's called Project __Ibn al Xu'ffash."_

"_What does that mean?" _Bumblebee asked.

"_Not really sure,"_ Robin mumbled. _"But I can find out…Here it is—Ibn al Xu'ffash is Arabic for—"_ He stopped, eyes wide. _"No…"_ He whispered with a shake of his head.

"_What? What is it, Rob?"_ Kid Flash demanded.

When Robin still did not answer, Artemis read over the Boy Wonder's shoulder. She gasped slightly, but read the information aloud. _"It means, Son of the Bat."_

Shuddering slightly, Robin took a deep breath before continuing. _"According to this, the underground facility is working on a bioweapon of some kind—a weapon capable of taking out the whole Justice League. However, because of the needs of the Light's new partner, the project has been abandoned for now. Guys…the facility was supposed to be destroyed along with the project."_ He looked up. _"Talia al Ghul was ordered to destroy it. Apparently, she decided to inform Batman of its existence instead."_

"_But why?"_ Superboy asked.

"_That, Supes, is the million dollar question."_ Deliberately, Robin repeated the words that his mentor had spoken all those months ago on the Watchtower when they discussed the possible reasons that he had been transported here. Robin now had a very good idea what that reason was. Turning from the others, he activated his personal Bat-communicator.

"What is it?" Batman answered immediately.

"You have to get here, Batman. The facility is abandoned. The bioweapon is located in the lowest level. I think you'll want to be here when we find it."

"Why? What is it?" Batman repeated.

"It's called Project _Ibn al Xu'ffash_."

There was a long pause, then Batman spoke. "I've locked onto your coordinates. Keep your communicator open. I'm on my way."

"You got it."

The next moment, a white zeta transporter beam materialized before them. When it cleared, the Dark Knight stood there, wearing one of the _n_th belts that Robin had developed.

Without a word, the two Bats conferred silently with each other. Robin showed his mentor the readings from his glove computer, and Batman took a few minutes to read them through. As they did, the others stood around looking uncomfortable.

"_What's going on?"_ Bumblebee asked Artemis.

Artemis took a sneak peek at Superboy before answering. _"I'm not 100 percent sure, but what I am sure of is that it's probably not good."_

Superboy glared at no one in particular. He definitely had a feeling of unease growing inside him.

"Let's go," Batman ordered without another word. He and Robin headed toward the lifts at the end of the corridor. Entering they pressed the down button to the lowest level. While everyone kept their opinions to themselves, they all had a growing feeling of inevitability settling on their shoulders.

As the lift doors opened, Robin deployed the team to take up security points around the hidden laboratory. Kid Flash checked the place at super-speed and confirmed that it was unoccupied. Nodding somewhat absentmindedly, Robin took his cues from his partner. Batman gave him with a questioning look, and Robin pointed to a heavy, sealed door at the far end. They walked in its direction in measured steps, side-by-side. Once at the door, Robin jacked into its security pad and quickly decrypted its security code.

Nodding at Superboy, Robin stepped back as the Boy of Steel flexed his muscles and opened the heavy, steel-gage door. Inside, to no one's real surprise was a transparent container holding a small boy. The boy looked to be about five-years-old and was attached to a breathing apparatus. He was submersed in a green, gel-like fluid.

Robin spoke. At some time he had jacked into the pod's control panel. "According to this, the boy is six months old in real time, but five years old in physical development—approximately one month per year. The additional month apparently simulated the nine-month gestation period. That green, yucky stuff acts in place of a womb—"

"TMI, dude!" Kid Flash protested, only to be slapped upside the head by Artemis. "Ouch!"

"_Quiet, Baywatch!" _She gave him a warning look, her chin pointing toward Batman who was touching the pod palm out.

"The gel-like substance places the occupant in some kind of suspended animation. The boy's development is a combination of cloning science and…" Robin cleared his throat. "…In-vitro fertilization. Batman, some of the stuff here…I think you may want to read it yourself." He turned to the others. "Guys…can you give us some space? This is really Bat-stuff."

"_Robin, what can you tell us?"_ Aqualad asked.

"_I'm sorry, Aqualad…but that's up to Batman."_

"_Understood," _Aqualad acknowledged.

"Well, I don't understand," Bumblebee muttered under her breath as they walked out of the sealed room…

"Batman?" Robin spoke uncertainly. He placed his smaller gloved hand over his mentor's. "Batman?" he repeated.

"A clone," Batman whispered, his voice shaky with anger. "Now I know how Superman felt. _Ibn al Xu'ffash_…Son of the Bat. This is what they did to me during those four hours I was gone. They took DNA samples from me and created a clone—"

"No, Batman…not a clone. A son." Batman turned the full Bat-glare at the boy he thought of as his true son. "They took…" He cleared his throat again in embarrassment. "They took sperm samples from you. The records show that they used sperm to fertilize in-vitro several female ova." He nodded his chin at the boy floating in the gel-like substance. "He's the result." He turned back to his mentor. "He's a real boy, Bruce…your _real_ son." Unable to help himself, Robin's voice hitched slightly at the end. "They used what they learned from the cloning process to speed up his physical development, but he came from your sperm and…Talia's ovum."

He was looking down, so Robin did not notice when Batman put his arm around his shoulder. "_You_ are my real son, Dick. Don't _ever_ forget it." Robin threw his arms around Batman. He had already known the truth, but he had needed a little reminder.

Smiling gratefully, Robin held his Batman's eyes as he asked, "Why don't we see how to get my new brother out of that contraption, so we can take him home?" He grinned suddenly. "I hope you know what you're going to say to Alfred!"

Bruce's arms tightening instinctively around him, coupled with his answering grin told Dick that everything was going to be all right. Whatever happened in the future, whatever they discovered about the still-missing sixteen hours, at this moment, they were no longer Batman and Robin. They were a father and his firstborn son, gazing upon the gift of a new life that had just increased their small family by one.

**The End**

**~ / ~ / ~ / ~**

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who signed on for story alert or favored the story, and, of course, thanks to everyone for reviewing. I hope you all enjoyed reading Alpha-Omega Protocol as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to DC, Time Warner, and CN; this is an original story that doesn't intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome.

**Copyright**: January 2013


End file.
